


Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail, The Dark Lioness)

by Thecsquirrel



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Chloe and Sam friendship, F/F, a little angsty, blood and bullets, foul language ahead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-02-22 14:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 38,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13168650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thecsquirrel/pseuds/Thecsquirrel
Summary: After four months of treasure hunting bliss, what would make Nadine leave Chloe without even so much as an explanation or a barely a goodbye?Ghosts from the past and the "find of a lifetime" set Chloe, Nadine, and Sam off into sand and sun of Egypt, but will they be working as a team or as adversaries...





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> True story: This has taken me forever, but I am mostly satisfied with the results. This has been banging around in my head since October and it won't let me go, so here goes nothing!
> 
> Also: I am by no means an expert in Egyptology beyond what the Internet has told me. Forgive my creative liberties and don't beat me up too much. If I'm lucky, I might be nearly as accurate as Assassin's Creed: Origins.

_Prologue. June._

Chloe was supposed to be the one to leave -- she was the type, after all. She was the liar. She was the commitment-phobe. She was the runner. She was the cad. But in the end, it was Nadine, who could barely look up through dark lashes to meet cloudy gray eyes. In the end, it was Nadine, who took a steady breath, clenched her jaw, put that mask back on and then walked out of the door; no backwards glance needed as Chloe had already closed her eyes to the sound of the door.

_Three Weeks later..._

The sun was barely up when Chloe started tugging on her boots and zipping up her jeans. She barely gave a side glance to the stranger in the strange bed before she laid eyes on her haphazardly thrown underwear, which she shoved into the pocket of her leather jacket. She snagged a bottle of water out of the fridge on her way to easing out of the flat and headed for the street. 

It was the second time in as many weeks that she had made her way home before the sun had come up. More than a month ago, these mornings were different. A month ago, Nadine would be in her kitchen making coffee and scrambling eggs or making toasties. A month ago, Nadine would be trying to balance two hot drinks and a bag of pastries, along with a laptop and the key Chloe had given her. A month ago, Nadine would’ve flopped on the bed next to her after she kicked her shoes off, and would start reading maps or blogs, while she waited patiently for Chloe to wake from a deep sleep. 

Four months removed from India and all the excitement of exploding trains and lost cities had given both women a chance to get used to one another and the new territory of their partnership. Admittedly, they were still learning one another, but the Western Ghats had seemingly formed a bond, a trust even, and they were plowing head first into what it meant to work with one another. The first two months hadn't been completely smooth, as Nadine had to get used to the whims and impulses of the woman who was becoming very much her best friend - and quite possibly something more. And while she didn't always approve of Chloe's "devil-may-care" attitude or her undisciplined fighting style, the former mercenary did see some method to the woman's madness. In the moments that she didn't, she was content to teach and surprisingly, Chloe always seemed eager to learn. 

Truth was, they completed one another well. 

Truth was, they had more in common then they realized or knew how to voice. 

Truth was, Nadine still had shit to sort.  
\-----

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This story is pretty much done, but I am down the rabbit hole of edits, so I will try to be timely with my updates.  
> **The title is Zulu and translates to Hail, The Dark Lioness. Also, it comes from the title of what looks to be an amazing art exhibition (London) from South African visual activist Zanele Muholi. http://autograph-abp.co.uk/exhibitions/zanele-muholi


	2. Special Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Sam get a mysterious box.

Sam Drake pushed in the door of the East End pub only to be nearly pushed back out by the blaring sound system. Joe Strummer's voice assaulted his ear drums from what seemed like 360 degrees, and while Sam agreed with the sentiment, loud was loud. He was still surprised at how remarkably easy it had been to find Chloe, considering he was prepared for what he thought would be a long night, only to discover that it was going to end before it had barely begun. And by the looks of the gelled-coif of the man leaning too far into Chloe's personal space at the bar, it was going to be a very short night.

Sam bumped a few shoulders as he pushed through the throng of leather-clad bodies replete with modifications and customary tattoos. He caught the last snippet of Chloe's conversation just as he came up behind her. 

"I'm 'fraid you couldn't handle this ride even if I gave you instructions, so push off and maybe come back after puberty." Chloe blew a kiss at the stone-faced man and then proceeded to dismiss him while knocking back the caramel colored contents of her shot glass. 

For a blink of an eye, Sam almost wanted to let the man attempt to grab for Chloe, but he could see at least four other empty shot glasses, so he decided that a bar brawl with a less than sober Chloe might not be good odds. Instead, he pretended to trip over his own feet and he stumbled into both Chloe and the scowling man. 

"What's your deal, man!?" 

Sam turned bashful blue eyes on the taller man and appeared remorseful. "Totally my fault. No worries okay."

Chloe's eyes went wide as she finally registered Sam's face. "Sam!" She hopped off the stool and draped her arms around his neck.

"Well, look at you." He chuckled and started to maneuver them away from the bar. "You ready to go or you want to stay with your friend?"

Chloe groaned. "Not my type." She let go of Sam's neck and stood up straight. "But hey, how about I treat you to a drink down the street." Her smile was loopy and her eyes were glassy. 

Sam just nodded and let Chloe grab his wrist and drag him through the bar and out into the cool air. "Christ, my ears are going to be ringing for a week.” He shook his head and then tugged on Chloe’s hand. “So, hey, let's change plans."

Chloe stumbled and stopped walking. "If you're going to be a party-pooper Drake, then I will see you later." She attempted to brandish a fingergun at him, but her fingers weren't quite cooperating. 

Sam sighed. "Look, Chloe, I promise we can drink all the drinks you want, but back at your place."

A slim black eyebrow arched. "Oh, I see where this is going." On two long strides, she was flush against Sam's side. "Look Sam, I love you like a brother, but I'm not sure this is going to work." She tapped a finger against his nose.

He groaned in response. "Damn it, Chloe! This is serious." He pushed at her shoulder and stepped back. "We need to get off the street and we need to talk." He met Chloe's darting eyes and the woman appeared to sober just for a moment.

Chloe took a deep settling breath and tousled her hair. "Sam, if this is about- if this... " Chloe trailed off and swallowed the lump in her throat, realizing that she couldn't even say her name out loud, and certainly not outside of the comfort and safety of her bedroom. 

Sam softened the annoyed look on his face and gave her a half-smile. "I'm not here about that, well about her." He watched as Chloe closed her eyes briefly and drew in a deep breath through her nose. "Look, let's just get back to your place and I'll explain."

Chloe opened her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek to sober herself. She nodded at Sam as if to say that she was fine and they promptly headed North.  
________________________________________

The flat was a mess. It reminded Sam more of his place than what he had imagined Chloe's home to look like. Not that he had expected shabby chic decor or clinical levels of neatness, but he was slightly taken aback by the rather fratboy-lite decorating tips that the thief seemed to be using for inspiration. He cleared a pile of clothes and paperwork off the couch before he sat down and waited for Chloe to return from the kitchen, where she stood guzzling an entire bottle of water while standing in the open door of the fridge. 

A minute later, Chloe collapsed into the arm chair across from Sam and let her legs hang off the arm. "So, what's so urgent Sam?" She awkwardly shrugged off her leather jacket and tossed it carelessly behind her.

"I really love what you've done with the place Chloe, really." 

She answered with a middle finger. "Spill it."

Sam reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a bubble-lined envelope. He opened the package and gently slid the contents onto the table before peeling off the wrapping. "Take a look at that."

From upside down, Chloe wasn't quite sure what she was looking at other than the fact that it was shiny. "What is that thing?"

"I'm guessing a jewelry box maybe." He watched Chloe’s eyes grow wide with intrigue. 

Chloe finally sat up properly and leaned forward. It was indeed a box. A very ornately sculpted box made of what appeared to be gold. "Is it gold Sam?"

Sam just nodded with a knowing smile as he watched Chloe's eyes dance across the box. Long fingers hovered near the box. "Go on, pick it up." His knee bounced in anticipation.

Chloe grinned and gingerly reached for the small box. The gilded box was about the length of a deck of cards and was deep enough to house a few rings. Chloe peered closely at the small box and examined the etchings and detail. "Sam, are these hieroglyphics?" There was wonder in her voice. 

He shrugged a shoulder. "I'm no expert, but that was my first thought." 

Chloe ran her fingers gently along the ridges of the box and eased open the top. It was empty, but certainly it could have once upon a time held another jewel. "Where'd you get this?" She placed it back in the envelope and met Sam’s eyes. 

Sam leaned back against the cushions of the couch and patted his thighs. "It showed up two days ago addressed to Sam Frazer." He acknowledged the quizzical look on Chloe's face with a nod. "Yeah, well, figured I needed to find you fast."

While she was far from sober, the promise of a new adventure did wonders for clearing away the haze of alcohol that she had been using to dull her senses for weeks. Chloe swept long sable-colored hair over her left shoulder and leaned forward in her seat. She looked from the gilded gold box on the coffee table up to Sam's eyes. "Seriously, where'd you get this thing from?"

Sam held his hands up in surrender. "Just showed up, I swear." 

She narrowed her eyes at him and licked at her suddenly dry lips. "No instructions?"

He shook his head. "Nada. I was under the impression that your last name was all the direction I was getting."

Chloe's leg bounced up and down and she nibbled at her bottom lip. She flexed long fingers and stared at a fixed spot on the rug in thought. Sam watched her in silence for a few breaths before speaking. "Gonna' tell me what you're thinking?"

Chloe's shoulders jerked at the sound of his voice. She composed herself and then focused her attention back on him before answering. "I'm thinking we need an expert."

Sam grinned. "I'm listening."

"There's a professor in Senegal that can probably help." Chloe let her eyes fall on the box once more and then nodded. 

Sam clapped his hands together. "Hot damn. Should I give Sully a call? Hell, we can probably get going in a couple hours." He was giddy.

A deep chuckle filled the space. "Slow down, mate. How about we make a phone call first. Let's find out if we've actually got something." Chloe slapped Sam on his knee and then hopped up with surprising energy before heading for her laptop.


	3. Breadcrumbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously:  
>  _"Where'd you get this?" She placed it back in the envelope and met Sam’s eyes._
> 
> _Sam leaned back against the cushions of the couch and patted his thighs. "It showed up two days ago addressed to Sam Frazer." He acknowledged the quizzical look on Chloe's face with a nod. "Yeah, well, figured I needed to find you fast."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Another short shot as Team Shenanigans gets a little education.  
> **All mistakes are mine and I blame the internet for all my faults and research!

Professor Safi Camara greeted Chloe with open arms and the customary kissing of both cheeks. "Look at you, _ma petite_. You look well." The bangles she wore clanged against each other as she squeezed Chloe's arms. Safi was a rich dark brown in hue and wiry, with slightly graying locks that hung past her shoulders, and in her linen pants and gray cardigan she looked every bit the part of a seasoned History professor. If it wasn't for the graying hair, it was hard to tell if the woman was even pushing forty, but both she and Chloe knew that she was closer to sixty - a polite secret they both kept to themselves. She nodded in Sam's direction before letting Chloe out of her embrace and heading behind her desk. "Come and sit." She waved a slender arm towards the two chairs in front of her large oak desk. 

Chloe and Sam, both exhausted from the long flight and the train ride to the university, happily flopped down in the offered leather chairs. "Can I offer you tea?" She glanced at Sam and read the exhaustion on his face, "or perhaps a cafe?"

"Coffee please," Sam said with a smile.

"I think I may need that as well," Chloe admitted, finally feeling the stress of travel settle in her shoulders. 

"So, did you bring it with you?" Safi leaned forward on her elbows and clasped her hands together. Brown eyes were wide and bright beneath the glasses she wore and her smile was positively beaming. 

Chloe smirked at the obvious eagerness of her acquaintance. She opened her mouth to speak just when a young fair skinned woman walked in with a tray of mugs and a coffee pot. She sat them down on the desk. 

"Merci, Annabelle. Just leave the tray." Annabelle nodded and quietly left the room. 

Sam reached for the mug. "It's okay, I've got it." He stood and set about fixing coffee for everyone. 

The professor smiled and then trained her eyes on Chloe. "So, when do I get to see it?"

Chloe chuckled. "Who says I even brought it?" Her tone was teasing. 

Safi scoffed. "Because I know you Chloe Frazer. It's probably right in the pocket of your cargo pants." Sam snorted and Chloe just sighed. Safi accepted the offered mug of coffee and sat back in her leather chair with a smug smile. 

"Thanks for that, Sam." Chloe pretended to be annoyed before grabbing her steaming mug. Chloe blew on the liquid before taking a sip and then she let out a sigh and sipped again before putting the mug down. "I'll still never understand how Nadine drinks this stuff." The words were out of her mouth before she even thought about what she said. She slumped in the chair.

Sam only sat down and looked anywhere but Chloe. Safi only grinned. "Nadine?" 

Chloe grimaced and sat up straight. "Nobody important," she said quickly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a soft cloth bag and placed it on the desk. "Anyway, we have other things to discuss." She fixed a forced smile on her face and Safi knew better than to push. Perhaps another time. "Can you tell us what we have here? You barely gave us anything on the phone."

Safi waited with wide eyes while Chloe eased the golden box out of its home and sat it on the table. With a nod, she leaned forward and pulled the cloth closer to her. The professor rested her chin in her open palm and just stared at the box in awe. The room was silent for nearly a minute as Sam sipped at his coffee and they both watched the professor examine the box with her eyes. "May I touch it?" She glanced at both Sam and Chloe. Chloe just nodded. She eased the box closer and used gentle fingers to trace the markings and detail on the box. The room remained silent under her examination. 

After another minute, Sam looked from Chloe to the professor and back. "So, uh, does this mean we hit the jackpot or what?"

Safi sat back and just smiled. Her eyes glistened. "Where ever did you find this?"

"Just showed up," Sam responded with a shrug.

The professor arched an eyebrow at the man and then looked to Chloe. "Is that the story we're going with?"

"That's the only story I got." Chloe answered honestly and drank from her mug. 

Safi pushed the box back towards Chloe before standing up and heading towards one of the bookshelves in her office. She grabbed a leather-bound journal and sat back down behind her desk. She flipped a few pages, opened the book wide, and held it out to Chloe. "You really have no idea what you have do you?"

Chloe put the mug down and grabbed the book. "That's why you're my expert." Chloe smiled at the older woman.

"What do you two know about the 3rd dynasty?" The question was mostly rhetorical.

Sam half-shrugged. "We're talking Egyptians, right?"

Safi smirked and nodded. "We are. The Horus Kings to be exact." 

"Can't say they are on my list, but I'm listening." Sam gulped down the rest of his coffee and headed for another cup. 

With a wink at Chloe, Safi chuckled. "I like him. He's funny."

Chloe rolled her eyes in amusement. "I hear he makes good pancakes."

"Well, I do like fluffy crepes." They all laughed. Once they settled, Safi spoke up once more. "The etchings here are attributed to the Horus Dynasty. That would be from 2650 BC to about 2575 BC." She used a slim sliver pen to point at the one particular etching. The markings on the edge denote the Horus king and the hieroglyphs there suggest Horus Khaba."

"Horus Khaba?" Chloe furrowed her brow in contemplation.

"Ruled from 2623-2619, but Khaba is rarely mentioned."

Chloe sat forward at that statement. "Well, that's never a good thing." Her sarcasm was obvious. 

"Legend and some anecdotes suggest that King Khaba was actually a Queen."

A smile spread across Chloe's lips as she locked eyes with Safi. 

Sam watched as Chloe smiled and he grunted. "By the smile on your faces, I'm guessing this is a bigger deal than I think."

The professor slapped the desk in excitement. "And you think it's not a big deal?"

"Well, I mean," Sam started and glanced at Chloe for help. Chloe pretended to find the tin tiles in the ceiling to be more exciting, as she listened to Sam sputter.

"Quick, how many Egyptian queens can you name, Sam?" Brown eyes bored into Sam. Sam realized this woman probably made her students pee their pants.

"Um, well, uh, Cleopatra!" he said with triumph. 

The professor bared her teeth in a sort of smile. "And?"

"There's uh, Nefriteri? I mean, Nefrititi! Right?" Chloe giggled. He scowled at her. "How about a little help here, Frazer." 

She held up her hands. "Oh, no, no, no. You've got this, mate."

"Alright, I give." He sat back in his chair in defeat. 

Safi smiled warmly. "Your American education only gets you so far, so I forgive you." She winked at him to lessen the sting. "At least you came up with two."

"The others are MerNeith, Sobekneferu, Nefertiti, as you mentioned, Hatshepsut, Twosret, and of course, Cleopatra." Chloe supplied in single breath.

Safi gave the other woman a thumbs-up. "And those are of course the ones we know about it. What you two may have stumbled upon is another name to add to that list."

"No, shit." Sam's excitement was genuine He looked over at Chloe who looked rather subdued or at least lost in thought. He nudged her shoulder. "Where's the excitement, Chloe. Figured you'd be all gung-ho."

Chloe worried her bottom lip with her teeth in thought. She was happy of course, but it was a bit hollow. It seemed a lifetime ago, that she and Nadine had joked about scouring the Pyramids for lost treasure. Nadine had revealed a childhood fantasy to her a month ago while sprawled out in the back of a rugged jeep on a Scottish hillside. It was one of those cool nights where they had used the excuse of the chilly air to lay huddled together in the cab underneath sleeping bags and blankets. They had giggled themselves silly drinking hot chocolate spiked with whiskey and trading childhood secrets. Egypt had been Nadine's. Chloe admitted that she wanted to find the Loch Ness monster. 

Sam's words finally broke through her reverie and she blinked at him before smiling. "I am excited. I'm just thinking about what this means." She wasn't too sure if Sam believed her, but he decided to let it go. 

"What it means, _ma petite_ , is that you two might be onto the find of a lifetime." Safi regarded the younger woman with warm brown eyes and they shared a smile. 

Safi stood and gave Chloe's shoulder as squeeze as she moved past her and headed for the door to her office. She leaned her head out and spoke in quick clipped French to Annabelle before closing the door. She turned back towards her visitors. "I hope you two don't have plans tonight, because I have a feeling we have some homework to do." 

Sam put his head in his hands and groaned, eliciting a round of laughter from the women.

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter III Preview:  
>  _"There was another voice. "You can get up now."... this time the disembodied voice was from a woman, and she recognized that accent._


	4. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Coffee with the professor had turned into a late dinner and a crash course in Egyptology that lasted well into the evening. Laden with a new map and a translation for the designs on the box, Chloe and Sam exchanged goodbyes with Safi and made promises to check-in in a few days. If they were indeed onto what the professor surmised they were onto, then they were going to need Professor Camara to authenticate the tomb. 

Sam and Chloe walked the side streets back to the hotel in companionable silence. Sam took a deep drag from his cigarette and blew smoke rings up into the night sky. "So, you really believe the professor?"

Chloe walked with her hands in the pockets of her quilted black vest. She nodded. "About a lost pyramid and a lost queen?"

"Yeah, I mean, if it's true, then," he paused and smiled. "I, mean, just wow." They shared a smile and turned down a quiet side street. 

For a moment, their booted footsteps were all that could be heard save the occasional passing car from the main road they had just left. They passed between buildings as they neared their hotel and Chloe came to an abrupt stop. Sam nearly tripped over his feet, but stopped short as well and looked at Chloe with a creased brow. "What's up?"

"Got another cigarette?" She held out her hand expectantly.

Sam smirked but pulled one from the fresh pack and Chloe plucked it from his fingertips. "Sheesh, patient much?"

She rolled her eyes. "Light please?"

Sam sighed and dug a match out of his pocket and struck it. Chloe leaned close to reach the flame, before she cupped her hands around the flame to keep it lit. "I think someone's following us." Her words were quiet. Sam made no move, only nodded and let her light the cigarette. He shook out the dying flame and they moved apart. 

Chloe took a deep drag and managed to exhale without going into a coughing fit. "Not bad."

Sam grinned. "How about a night cap? Think there's a bar or something on the other corner."

Chloe exhaled a plume of smoke and used the actions to check to periphery. "Lead on." 

The pair headed away from the hotel and took a corner headed West. As they walked, Sam, too, was now pretty sure he heard extra steps. Just as they made it to the corner, Chloe spun around on her heels, but only the empty street greeted her. She trained gray eyes on the shadows left by the lampposts and stared into the dark space for nearly a minute. Finally, Sam's impatient voice broke through. 

"You still coming, Frazer?" 

Chloe gave one last long look to the quiet side street and answered, "Ja. I mean, yeah, I'm coming." She tossed her cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with her toe before turning to meet Sam. It hadn't been the plan, but at this point, a nice glass of scotch would probably take the edge off. 

Sam and Chloe would only stay at the bar long enough for a night cap before finally heading to their rooms for a few hours of much needed sleep. They would be out before sunrise and en route to the airstrip before the first of two bodies would be found in the darkened alley behind the hotel. 

Exhausted from seven hours flight, the two travelers made it to Cairo before dusk and headed straight for the last-minute accommodations Chloe procured midflight. Sam had thought she was being paranoid about Senegal, but they both knew better than to ignore one's instincts and so he hadn't put up much of a fight when she opted to find a less obvious place to sleep. And after 7 plus hours in coach, Sam just wanted a place to stretch his legs; so long as there was a bed, a toilet, and a shower, he really didn't care.  
\------

 _...6 1/2 hours earlier._

Like clockwork, Dr. Camara was heading into her office with the sunrise. Slightly surprised to find the waiting room unlocked and open, she stepped over the threshold, fully intending to congratulate her young T.A., Annabelle, for beating her into the office for once. However, the professor's joy was short-lived as she saw the disarray of the outer room, and she could see her office door was slightly off its hinges. 

She gripped her phone and shook her head as she stepped over the paperwork strewn about the floor. She knew she should probably call campus security, but at the moment she could only think of her research. She squeezed through the broken door and carefully made her way into her ransacked office. She hit the light switch and was met only with the fizzle of an electrical short.

"Just great," she mumbled under hear breath in disgust. 

She dropped her bag to the floor and knelt down in front of her broken desk and began the Sisyphean task of collecting her books from the toppled bookshelves. The moment her knees touched the carpet, she knew she should've called security. 

"Dr. Camara, right?" A disembodied male voice was at her back. She couldn't quite place the accent, but it definitely wasn’t local. Whatever her initial response was going to be was swallowed in a gasp, upon feeling the muzzle of a gun pressed against her back. "I suggest you leave that there and come with me."

The slender-armed professor raised shaky hands above her head. "I-I'm sure this is some kind of mistake. There is nothing of value in this room, I swear."

She heard a less than mirthful chuckle. "Just come with me." She felt the muzzle press once more against her back. "Now."

"I don't suppose you could help me up? I'm afraid once I get down here, it's not quite as easy to get back up."

Her attempt at humor was met with silence. Before she could make another query, there was small squeak and then a loud thud. With her back to the door, she couldn't be certain, but the professor was quite sure the man behind her had collapsed. 

There was another voice. "You can get up now."

Dr. Camara smiled and relaxed her shoulders, because this time the disembodied voice was from a woman, and she recognized that distinct accent. The slender professor stood with ease and turned to find a friendly and familiar face. "Nadine Ross," The professor spoke as she smiled and then frowned when she glanced at the body of the man on her office floor. She saw that his neck was at an impossible angle and she cringed before looking away. 

Nadine followed her eyes and shrugged. "Sorry, I was late. And about the mess."

Dr. Camara sighed and moved to pick up her toppled chair. She thought about sitting and then thought better of it. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest and regarded the woman across from her. It had been a few years since they had seen one another in the flesh, but Nadine was still very much the same. Military style cargos, black boots, a dark short sleeved cotton shirt, curly hair wrangled into a ponytail and all manner of weaponry strapped to her thighs and probably other places the professor couldn't see. She narrowed her eyes at the younger woman as she took in the dark circles under her eyes. Nadine looked like she hadn't slept in days. 

"You feeling okay, Nadine?" The professor's concern was authentic.

Nadine shrugged off the answer and then squatted down next to the corpse to rifle through his pockets. "I'm fine Safi, but we should go." She grabbed the phone and removed the sim card before smashing the device. Nadine stood and picked up the professor's bag.

She nodded and moved to take the offered bag. "Um, should I leave a message for Annabelle? She's going to think I've been kidnapped or worse."

Nadine pursed her lips. "That's the point." She unsheathed her tactical knife and handed the weapon over, hilt first. "Sorry about this."

Safi curled her lip in trepidation. "Is this really necessary?" She held out her hand for the knife. 

Nadine sighed. "We need to buy time and I need you safe. I can't be in two places at one time." She gestured with a hand towards the mess of the office. "Obviously." 

Safi scoffed and then said teasingly, "and here I thought you were going to tell me it was because of your girlfriend." 

Brown-gold eyes opened wide in shock and Nadine's mouth gaped open. "S-she's not my girlfriend." Nadine folded her arms across her chest. "We are not anything at the moment," she added quietly before she quickly changed the subject. "How about I help you with that?", she asked through gritted teeth.

The professor smirked and then quickly sliced a respectable cut in her palm. She let out a hiss of pain. "Suppose I should just fling my hand across the desk?" Nadine just nodded and watched with a straight face as the professor splattered blood across her desk. 

Once satisfied, Nadine traded her a handkerchief for her knife. "We need to get a move on. Your ride to the safehouse is on a limited window." Nadine stepped over the body and walked out of the office. She waited for the older woman to join her in the outer office before she peered out into the empty hallway. They moved in silence for a tense minute until they exited the building and into the parking lot, where a non-descript black sedan waited. Nadine opened the back door and guided Safi inside. "You're all set. Hopefully, the next time we talk you'll be looking at the find of a life time." Nadine managed a small smile. 

Safi regarded the younger woman with a genuine smile once she settled on the seat. She met Nadine's eyes and patted her cheek. _"Elle te pardonnera, je te le promets."_

Some small part of her wanted to believe her words were true. Maybe Chloe would forgive her. Maybe. Nadine mustered a sad smile. "Stay safe." With that she closed the door and stepped back just as the car pulled off. She lifted her wrist to check the time. If she made good time to the air strip she could probably make it to Cairo in less than 7 hours.

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * _Elle te pardonnera, je te le promets - She will forgive you, I promise._
> 
> **Hope this wasn't too long of a wait for Nadine to make an appearance. Still don't know what her game is yet, but hey, at least she's here!


	5. Hansel and Gretel Go Shopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Teaser: "Shoreline or not, Nadine or not, yes, we're doing this." She stiffened her shoulders with a surge of confidence. "If Nadine and Shoreline want this, then they are going to have to beat us to it."_

High sun and high temperatures meant Cairo in July was blistering. Chloe and Sam played the role of tourists leisurely strolling through the lush green spaces and fountains of Azhar Park. Ahead of them, the Citadel loomed high in the distance and like all good awestruck tourists, Chloe stopped and pointed at the structure and the landscape. She snapped a photo of a surly Sam and when he came close to look at the picture, they appeared to be deciding what was the best filter to use.

"I'm damn sure we're being followed." Chole's voice was close to his ear. 

"Military looking dude, right?" Sam swiped through a few photos before grabbing the phone. "Here, let me get you."

Chloe played shy and pretended she was embarrassed while Sam snapped a few photos. Finally, Chloe grabbed the phone and they fell into easy laughter and started walking once more. "You up for a round of shopping?" She wiggled dark eyebrows and Sam just groaned, but he knew it was a good idea. They hopped a quick taxi to get to the Medieval district and lose their obvious tail at least for a few minutes. The sensory overload of the Khan el-Khalili Bazaar would undoubtedly provide them enough cover to figure out their next steps. 

Safi had warned them that there would be others on the trail, but the good professor seemed to be under the impression that those other treasure seekers would be intellectuals and bookish adventure seekers. Unfortunately, Chloe and Sam knew better. Treasure hunting took money and muscle as of late, so while Indiana Jones was a nice fantasy prototype, reality seemed to call for a mix between Lara Croft and the squad from the _Matrix_. 

Chloe thumbed through the photos and stopped to zoom in on the one where she was clearly out of focus and to the left center of the frame. Their watcher was dressed rather inconspicuously in khakis and a smart cotton polo. The aviators of the usual dark tint and the manicured beard suggested a young businessman out for an afternoon stroll. Jet black hair was a bit too long for military regulations and the leather bag crisscrossed across his chest gave off all the right signals. At a glance, he was just a normal young North African man -maybe Egyptian, maybe not- enjoying the sun of the park. Chloe almost doubted herself until she saw his shoes: Combat boots. Black. Steel-toed. Military grade by the look of the soles. And shined to perfection. She chuckled and shook her head. For nearly three months, she had watched Nadine meticulously care for a similar pair of boots, and all of her shoes truthfully, even Chloe's. 

On Sundays, when Chloe would sleep in, Nadine would sit out on the back patio -weather permitting- and she would clean, shine, and buff her boots. No matter how much she implored the former mercenary to relax, there were some things that the woman would never let go of, and the routine of cleaning and maintaining her gear was chief of among them. 

Chloe remembered watching her once while she worked. She came out to the patio on a slightly brisk morning, wrapped up in a big sweater and blanket with two steaming mugs in her hand: tea for herself and god-awful coffee for Nadine. She sat down on the rattan chaise and just watched the sunrise and Nadine. Well, she mostly watched Nadine, since the dissipating London fog made the morning sunrise less than stellar -- at least that was her excuse. Instead, she sipped quietly at her tea and kept her eyes on Nadine who kept her focus on her task. They had formed an easy friendship in those early weeks just after returning from India. Chloe kept finding excuses for Nadine to come and hang out in London and finally, nearly a month after India, she showed up with the largest duffel bag Chloe had ever seen and dropped it on the floor and said, 'figure I should just stay for a week or so, you know just to plan.' They had shared a knowing look and simply moved on, and now they sat together in a quiet and amiable silence on the back patio of Chloe's London flat, while Chloe sipped tea and watched her friend clean and polish her boots. The process was always the same and the end results would be supple and shiny leather. It was the same shine she saw on the boots of the watcher in the photo. She pushed aside the thought that perhaps Nadine had trained him and instead focused on the fact that they were indeed being tailed by someone who at least appeared to have a military connection. 

Sam used a handkerchief to wipe sweat from his brow as they exited the cab and spilled out into the loud colors and vibrant smells of the Bazaar. "So, I'm guessing we have a tail for sure?"

" ’Fraid so." She grimaced and tugged on her tunic to encourage the flow of air. "On the upside, it means we're on the right track."

"Yeah, and on the bad side it means that once again we are outnumbered and outgunned." He grumbled and fished a cigarette out of his shirt pocket. 

The normally confident thief had no comeback for the truth, so she just patted Sam on the shoulder and stepped into the cacophony of vendors yelling, and the crush of bodies moving amidst the stalls. 

The duo spent a rather leisurely 45 minutes browsing and sampling food and haggling with no intention to buy before either of them felt as if they had actually lost their shadow. Granted they could've picked up another, but the throngs of people would at least make them difficult to keep track of for even the most trained eyes. 

Chloe had finally caved and actually bought a scarf she liked from an impossibly wrinkled woman, who was the color of burnt sienna with milky white eyes. The smiling teenager at her side reminded Chloe of Meenu and between that and the wine-red color of the silk, she knew she had to have the accessory. She briefly thought of Nadine for a moment as the young girl wrapped it up for her and Chloe placed it in her rucksack. Had Nadine been with her, she would have rolled brown eyes to the sky and made some droll comment about Chloe making herself a target with her choice of color. Ever practical, Nadine would have tried to convince her to buy the one that was a caramel brown or even the black. However, Nadine wasn't here by her side to regale her with the merits of a darker color, so she handed over her pounds with a smile and headed off to find Sam. 

Sam was off to the side enjoying a cigarette with a small gathering of men. In his brown khakis and short-sleeved button down, he screamed tourist, but for the cost of a cigarette he didn't seem to mind. Chloe nodded her head in his direction as she made her way past him and kept walking. Although certain they had lost their tail, they both knew it was best not to draw unnecessary attention to themselves. 

Chloe was weaving through the crowd towards a clear space when the first of two kids bumped her as they dashed through the crowed, seemingly chasing one another. She caught the second kid by the scruff and tried not to make too much of a scene as she stopped by a low wall. 

"Alright, there chief, where's the hurry?" Her tone was amused as she kept a hold of the kid’s shoulder. She looked down at the light brown face of the young grinning boy. Chloe held out her hand. "Give it back."

The dark eyed boy shrugged as if confused, and Chloe narrowed her eyes. "You see my friend headed this way?" She nodded in Sam's direction as he crossed the walkway. "He works for the police, as an informant. We both do. And you really don't want either of us going back to headquarters with your name, now do you?" The kid started to squirm but then froze as Sam scowled appropriately upon reaching them. Chloe smirked. "Now, give it back."

The young boy relaxed with a huff and fished her wallet out of his pocket. It was slim leather affair that had a few bills in it and whatever she was passing off as an i.d. for the moment. Technically, she wouldn't have missed the thing, but from one thief to another, she felt like she should do the adult thing and give the amateur pickpocket some tips. This would surely do wonders for her karma. 

Chloe let go of his shoulder and he dropped the wallet in her hands. She tsked and shook her head. "You know, if you and your buddy are going to run a scam there's no need to make it so frantic, eh?"

He blinked wide dark eyes open and then grinned at her in understanding. "Besides, with all these bodies," she gestured towards the steady stream of people walking by. "Nothing wrong with a little Kansas City Shuffle." His little brow furrowed and Chloe huffed. She tossed her wallet at Sam, who was caught off guard at the projectile, but managed to close his hands around the leather after a fumble. The distraction made the kid turn his head and in that moment Chloe swiped the keys in his pocket. "See what I mean?"

She waited until dark eyes swung back to her and took in the sight of the shiny key she held between her fingers. Chloe’s smile was smug as the boy's eyes went wide and then he nodded. She took out a five pound note from her pocket and handed it to the kid along with the key. His smile was wide, revealing crooked white teeth. "Stay outta' trouble." It came out more like a question than a command. He snatched the bill, nodded, and then dashed off into the crowd. 

"That's some fine mentoring there Chloe Frazer," he said with a cheeky grin. 

Chloe raised two fingers at him, effectively flipping him off. "Let's get back."

With a chuckle, Sam clapped her on the shoulder and they too disappeared into crowd.  
\--

It was a little after 8pm when Chloe and Sam readied themselves to leave the hotel to head towards the Layer Pyramid at Zawyet el'Aryan. According to Safi, this was where their search needed to start. Chloe pulled the dark grey cotton hooded Henley over her short-sleeved red shirt and double checked her pockets for her gear. Almost satisfied she was ready, she stopped short when she patted the pocket on her thigh. "What the?"

Sam looked up from zipping up his jacket and watched Chloe with confused eyes. "You good?"

She jammed her fingers into the deep pocket and quickly found the foreign object. She felt the breath leave her body and her knees wobbled. She leaned back and sat down on the edge of the bed, letting her shoulders sag. The small carving rested in the palm of her hand and Chloe cursed under her breath.

A concerned Sam crossed the room to stand in front of her. "What's going on Chloe? I don't like this look."

Chloe sighed and chewed on her thumbnail. Crying was not an option, so she just bit down on the flesh of her bottom lip to concentrate. She tossed the object at Sam.

Sam caught it and turned the small wood carving of an elephant over in his fingers. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. Is this a chess piece or something? Good luck charm?" He was at a loss as to they why the delicate carved wood piece would cause Chloe to look as if she'd seen a ghost.

Chloe grew introspective as she turned the scenarios over and over in her head until her sadness soured into anger. It was a sign. Hell, all of it had been a sign. A big flaming pink lotus of a sign lighting up the damn night sky like some facsimile of the Northern Lights that she had never gotten the chance to take Nadine too see. 

"That fucking kid," she grumbled to herself. She chuckled mirthlessly and shook her head at her own gullibility. "That damn kid." She growled out a bit louder.

Sam scratched at his head in confusion. "You wanna' let me in on your little one-sided conversation, Chloe?"

"I should've known better." She huffed out her words in a show of discomfort and continued to chew on her thumb.

Sam rubbed hard at the crease between his eyebrows. "Give me a break here, Chloe. What is happening? What about the kid?"

Her shoulders tensed and then sagged. "He didn't need me to tell him about the Kansas City Shuffle as he was already doing the Cairo shuffle."

"Come again?"

She looked at Sam with exasperated eyes and finally stood up from the bed. "This. All of this is goddamn set up." She stretched her arms above her head before grabbing onto her own shoulders and pacing the small space. "The stupid box. The damn Indian Elephant. The fucking kid. The whole damn thing. The guy following us."

"Wait, what?" He watched and listened as she traversed the small space. "Chloe! Enough. What the fuck is going on? And who is setting us up?"

She stopped and turned hard gray eyes on Sam. "Who do you think?" She didn't wait for him to answer. "Nadine." She waited until the name settled in his chest and he took a step back and leaned against the small desk 

"Wh-, I mean, how?" He was rightly confused as he looked down at the small carving. "You got all that from this thing?" He held up the little elephant.

Chloe's smile was sad. She grabbed the elephant and perhaps against her better judgment, she put it in her pocket. "It's an Indian elephant," she said quietly.

Sam half-grinned. "How in the world do you know that?"

"The ears and the uh- the dome." She sighed and dragged her hands through the loose hair of her ponytail. "It's Shoreline, I'm sure of it."

"Fucking Shoreline!" Sam stood up straight in near shock. "She said she was done."

"Yeah, well, here we are."

Sam pounded his fist into the desk. "I fucking knew it! That double-crossing b-

"Hey!" Chloe's sharp tone cut him off. "Just don't, okay. Only one of us gets to spit the dummy here and I've got dibs."

Sam huffed but nodded. "So, what do we do? The two of us against a whole team of mercenaries?"

Chloe shrugged and managed a near genuine smile. "It's not like we haven't done it before."

He scoffed. "Yeah, well we also had…” Sam trailed off as Chloe leveled a searing side-eye at him. This was clearly not a discussion she was ready to have, but he felt like he needed to press a bit. If Nadine had indeed gone back to Shoreline and they were indeed on the trail of their lost female pharaoh then the stakes were changing.

Sam scratched at the back of his neck and just took a second to assess the woman's mood as she went back to packing her little shoulder bag. "Uh, you still haven't told me what happened between you two."

Chloe zipped the bag roughly and pulled the strap over her shoulder. She checked her gun, made sure the chamber was clear, the safety on, and then put it in her holster. She pulled the Henley down past her hips so that it covered the holster. "There's nothing to tell, Sam." She moved towards the door. "She left. That's the story. Now, are we ready to go?" She gripped the door knob and looked back at Sam.

"I guess we're still doing this, huh?"

"Shoreline or not, Nadine or not, yes, we're doing this." She stiffened her shoulders with a surge of confidence. "If Nadine and Shoreline want this, then they are going to have to beat us to it." She met Sam's eyes and he smiled.

With a renewed confidence he responded, "Well, let's go find the queen."

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter VI Preview:**   
>  _"I'm not following you any further, so cut the shit." Nadine's voice bounced off the brick and the footsteps stopped. The figure stepped out of the shadow created by the soft streetlights and Nadine tensed. She had indeed seen a ghost, or better yet a resurrection. "You survived." She kept her tone flat and gave away neither her surprise nor her admiration._


	6. Unfinished Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what exactly would make Nadine leave Chloe? Time for some answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year Everybody!! 
> 
> So, anyway, I've labored over this for far too long and I can't keep messing with it...so, here it is.

Bright and searing, the afternoon sun beat down on Nadine where she was perched atop the Citadel, peering down the lens of a sniper rifle scope. Her aim was focused a mile away at the edge of Azhar park, where she easily spotted the familiar white polo in her line of sight. Her trigger finger rested alongside the trigger guard and tapped gently against the safety. She watched the well-dressed man light a cigarette, and in so doing, he discreetly raised two fingers. To a passerby, it was a nondescript action that meant nothing, but to Nadine, it was a signal to get a move on. She was running out of time and excuses. 

On cue, the radio on her hip crackled to life with a static-riddled voice. 

“Ross! We need you in the map room.” It was not a request, but rather a demand. 

Nadine sighed as she climbed down from her spot and leaned the rifle against the stone. She snatched the radio and pressed the button. “Copy that. On my way.”  
\---  
_Six Weeks Earlier..._

_Thursday night at The Palm Tree pub was full of locals and a smattering of tourists who dared venture further into Mile Park. There was a jukebox DJ in lieu of a live-band, so tonight a mix of Motown and funk blared through the sound system and wove in and out of the conversations and laughter. To a visitor, if the run-down appearance of the building didn't turn them away then the unexpected cacophonous wall of sound that they walked into usually sent them running the other way. Along the back-right wall, Nadine hung her head in shame while a triumphant Chloe threw her head back in joyous laughter, as they both watched the dart sail wide of the mark and hit the black stained corkboard._

_"Don't be sore, China." Chloe slung her arm around Nadine's shoulders and hugged her close. "You can't win all the time."_

_Nadine's brow was furrowed in confusion and her pout was serious. "That's because you cheat, Frazer." She narrowed her eyes at the woman clutching her close and only got a laugh and a press of lips to her cheek for a response. Her pout slowly dissolved and instead she found herself fighting a grin._

_Chloe saw the slight curve of Nadine's lower lip and had mercy on her friend. She bumped her hip and stepped away to retrieve a full shot glass from a ledge. "It's not cheating, if it’s a good strategy." She winked and held out the shot glass._

_With a groan and a roll of her eyes, Nadine took the proffered glass and quickly knocked it back. She frowned. "I'm picking the shots from now on." She stuck out her tongue. "Need another pint?" She eyed Chloe's near-empty glass._

_"Yes, please." She batted her lashes in appreciation. "You are so good to me," she teased._

_Nadine scoffed. "I'm just trying to get you drunk enough, so you stop cheating." She grabbed their empty glasses. "And new rules: no touching." She pointed a finger in warning at Chloe, who clutched her chest, as if shocked and appalled. "I mean it, Frazer. No ear blowing, arse pinching, wandering fingers. Nothing."_

_"C'mon, China, you're no fun!", she whined as she watched Nadine turn to walk to the bar._

_"Ja, I know," she said while laughing. "Now, clear the board, woman." She smiled through her words and knew Chloe was flipping her off even without turning around. Nadine eased into a small opening between occupied bar stools and nodded at the bartender. "Can we get two more pints and two shots." The bearded young man behind the counter nodded and took the empty glasses. "And can the shots not taste like the underside of a Hippo's arse this time?" She got a laugh in response._

_Movement by the door caught Nadine's eye and she tensed once she caught sight of an honest to goodness ghost. She glanced over to where Chloe was in deep conversation and then promptly walked out the front door. She walked to right as the person in question stepped into the alley. With her hand gripped on the concealed karambit knife she always kept on her, she stepped into the alley._

_"I'm not following you any further, so cut the shit." Nadine's voice bounced off the brick and the footsteps stopped. The figure stepped out of the shadow created by the soft streetlights and Nadine tensed. She had indeed seen a ghost, or better yet a resurrection. Unfortunately, Rafe Adler wasn't the only one swallowed up by Avery's fire. "You survived." She kept her tone flat and gave away neither her surprise, nor her admiration._

_"No thanks to you." His lilting Scottish accent tempered what Nadine knew was roiling anger._

_Nadine smirked because she could. Hopefully, he didn't recognize her response for what it was: relief. She had been so sure that Rafe had somehow risen from the dead to torture her, that when a much different face came into her line of sight, she had to do everything within her power to keep from whooping with delight. The search for Avery's treasure had ruined not only her reputation, but it had decimated all the things that she considered solid and true. Shoreline had been her legacy; her family. And yet, she had allowed herself to be charmed by Rafe's talk of grandeur and riches and she had believed him -- he was charismatic that way. They had seemed kindred spirits and the pursuit of fortune and fame was irresistible. What better way to cement her own legend with Shoreline than to discover a pirate's treasure. In the end she had lost everything. Her company. Her men. And honestly, even herself. Like her other lieutenants, she had counted Joseph among those she had lost - collateral damage. Truthfully, the scarred and disfigured man before her had been just that and so had she. He was just another reminder of her failures._

__

__

_Nadine shook her head like she could shake the negative thoughts from her mind. She couldn't keep blaming herself. "I gave you an out Joseph and it was your decision to stay."_

_Joseph snorted. "No matter, I've come with a proposition. Let's say a severance package of sorts." The expression on Nadine's face remained neutral and she remained silent, only watching the disfigured man watch her. The left side of his face was scarred from cheek to ear and the left hand that he gestured with was discolored and mottled by the 3rd and 4th degree burns he had obviously suffered on Avery's burning ship. Joseph took her silence as an invitation. "I want Shoreline and I need your resources and expertise to help me find the treasure of a lifetime."_

_Nadine's deep sigh was audible and she rolled her eyes. "Look, Joseph, if you want Shoreline you can have it. In fact, I'll go sign paperwork right now. You want the name? Take it, it's yours. I don't care." The former Shoreline captain was beyond annoyed, but she was serious. In fact, part of tonight's drinking was celebrating her recent return from Johannesburg to in fact settle paperwork for the company. She had signed over her vested interest to the bank and had started the process to dissolve her ownership in full._

_"Well, that's thoughtful of you and I'll accept that, but I'm afraid I need a little more than titles."_

_Nadine shrugged. "That's all I've got to give."_

_Joseph stepped a little closer, but still out of her reach. "Now, see, I think that's just not true."_

_Nadine unfolded her arms from across her chest and let Joseph clearly see the knife in her left hand. "Enlighten me."_

_"The name means nothing without the coffers and the resources. You know that."_

_"The coffers are empty. And you know that." She retorted._

_Joseph grimaced, his frustration evident. "Ma'am, I'm not stupid. Do you really think I believe your father, who built a company for 30-plus years, groomed his baby girl and handed her the reins, would leave this earth and leave her nothing?"_

_Discipline kept her from creasing her brow or even tensing her jaw. It was true her father had left her a small untouched cache of bonds, of which she had just discovered during her recent trip home. At the behest of her lawyer, she put the assets into an offshore account and she was still figuring out how she was going to break the news to Chloe. As a joke, she thought perhaps a gold-plated RPG would do the trick. However, at the present moment, she was feeling more murderous than humorous._

_"Joseph, you have about three seconds to tell me something I want to hear." She fixed him with a hard stare._

_"Fine. I want Shoreline and I want your help." His tone was matter of fact._

_She quickly responded, "You can have Shoreline, done."_

_He chuckled. "No. I want everything. The company, the title, the coffers, and the book." He met Nadine's eyes and waited until his demands were realized._

_His words settled and the practiced stoicism dissolved into a scowl and Nadine looped her thumb through the thumb grip of her knife. "Fok jou, Joseph. Take the damn company, don't really care anymore. But I'll be damned if you're going to take the contacts that I earned. Go make your own." She jutted her chin forward in defiance and perhaps a bit of challenge._

_Joseph blew out a frustrated breath. "I knew you were going to make this hard."_

_Nadine didn't bother to let him keep talking, before she was shoving him back hard into the brick wall with a forearm in his chest and the edge of the karambit pressing into his jugular. "Oh, this is about to get very easy, Joseph."_

_He beamed. "I sure am glad you are predictable." He groaned as Nadine slammed her forearm into his sternum. "I-If I'm not back in that bar at some point then the several heavily armed men have been instructed to kill anyone and everyone, save one." He met brown eyes to make sure she was getting the gist. "And that one, they'll take to some place you will never find, and I'm sure they will come up with some way to make her useful." He elongated and enunciated the two syllables of the last word, so that there was nothing subtle about his intentions towards her partner. Nadine's chest rumbled with a low growl as she pressed the blade into his flesh, drawing blood. Her nostrils flared and Joseph's smile grew wider in triumph. "There she is." Joseph could see the rage in her eyes. "I've got to say that I'm impressed. You really think you can do it. You really think you can kill me, get to her, and get out? You're really willing to sacrifice all those people just for her?" He let go of a soft laugh. "Kill me if you want, but she'll be gone before my body's even cold. And I promise that you will never find her."_

_The knife bit hard once more against his neck, ripping more of his flesh. Nadine gritted her teeth and calculated. The odds were not favorable and the risk was too much. Too many variables and too many unknowns. She only had one real choice. For punctuation, she kneed Joseph in the balls and shoved him hard against the brick wall before she stepped back and sheathed her knife._

_"These are my conditions." She watched as Joseph leaned against the wall and sucked in air. "The company is yours and I'll help you, and then we are done, is that clear?" He stood up straight and nodded. "Say it!" She demanded._

_"We're done. Never see me again." His broken smile was as large as he could make it._

_Nadine stood tall and managed to tower over him as he worked to still get his bearings. "And you leave her out of it. Clear?"_

_Joseph nodded readily. "Of course."_

_"Say it," she spat once more._

_"I don't even know her name. Done." Rather sincerely, he held out his hand for her to shake._

_Nadine spit on the ground off to the side and fixed her hard stare on the man. "Fokof!" She held up two fingers. "I'll meet you in two days at the air strip. And if I see you or anybody that I think works for you, the deal is off and the last thing you'll see is me cutting your heart out and eating it." She watched as he nodded. "Now make your phone call and get the fuck out of my bar." She turned her back and walked inside._

_Once inside, Nadine easily found Chloe, who was still engrossed in a conversation, no doubt recounting some tall tale or misadventure. Her laugh was loud and her smile was bright as she nodded at Nadine, who was still standing by the bar. She gestured that she was still waiting for their drinks and turned to reach for them. Brown eyes scanned the gathered patrons and she began to pick out the unfamiliar faces and the bulges underneath jackets and hands shoved deep into pockets. Nadine clenched her jaw and swallowed her anger and disappointment. She had let down her guard and she had believed she could simply wash her hands of Shoreline without any consequences. It was fine when it was just her reputation and her own demons, but now it was evident that her attempt to walk away unscathed was threatening to upend the first real sense of peace and happiness she had felt in a long time. She could choose to defy Joseph and call his bluff or she could choose to finish this once and for all. If she wanted to have any chance at this new life, then she was resigned to what needed to be done. Nadine took a steadying breath, fixed a smile on her lips, and headed back towards Chloe, determined to enjoy the rest of her night and her time with her partner._

_Two days later, Nadine kept her word._

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Chapter 7 Preview: Team Shenanigans(TM) finds a tomb and finds some mercenaries._   
> 
> 
> _"Chloe peered down at the body and she suddenly felt like she had been punched in the gut. Even without the branding she knew what the insignia on his shoulder meant: Shoreline."_


	7. Same Time, Same Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Team Shenanigans beat Shoreline to the tomb? And just what is Nadine doing: help or hindrance? Remains to be seen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Time for a little action with our adventure.

The car ride southeast along the Nile was a silent one as Chloe kept her eyes on the road and Sam kept his eyes on the landscape. Long stretches of open desert made up most of what they saw as they neared the Necropolis of Zawyet el'Aryan. The remnants of the army base kept the tourists away at night, but it would be exactly those structures that got them to their goal. They left the car two miles away at an engineering school and jogged towards the mostly deserted base. Next on the agenda, was stealing military uniforms that became a breeze, thanks to two dozing guards. If this was indeed a Shoreline operation then, Nadine, or someone had gone lax on their training. A sliver of hope that Nadine wasn't involved ran up Chloe's spine as she fixed a tight hat on her head. 

With a glance towards Sam, she grinned at his barely buttoned jacket. Apparently, the guard he had knocked unconscious was not quite his size. He shrugged; it would have to do for now. The two treasure seekers timed their movements across the open space once they neared the tomb entrance along the southwest wall. Floodlights kept them dodging spotlights and looking for the cover provided by shadows, a few sparse jeeps, random crates, and the occasional distracted sentry. Upon entering the pyramid, they moved in tandem with quick steps through the main excavation site dug out decades ago. Before oversight, the military had used the place as a garbage dump unfortunately, and the stains remained, so there were still vestiges of disuse and misuse along the corridors and some of the tunnels. 

They turned down the last walkway which would lead to the last known excavation. If Safi's research was right, then they had another level even further below to find. The trick of course, would be getting inside. The long passageway eventually opened up into what had probably once been a pharaoh’s tomb. All the important relics had been removed during the excavations of the 20th century and what the museums didn't preserve, the grave robbers had long since made off with. Strategically placed generator-powered flood lamps illuminated the barren space, so they could see a few remaining slabs of stone which had been weathered by time. 

Sam looked around the space and whistled. "I mean hey, for a resting place, this isn't half bad. Hell, in New York City this place would run a cool million." Chloe looked over her shoulder at him and just shook her head. "Great open floor plan, cool at night. What's not to love." He winked at Chloe and finally came to stand next to her by a back wall.

"You're ridiculous. Come help me." She chuckled at his antics. 

His smile grew. "Got something?"

"I think it's an opening." She stuck her palms flat against the stone and pushed. Of course, it didn't budge, but she was looking for a crease. 

Sam dropped to his knees and pressed against the stone. "Hey, wait, you feel that?"

Chloe sank quickly to her knees beside him and pressed her hand against the floor. A wide smile spread across her lips. "That's air, mate." She clapped Sam on the shoulder. "I think we might be onto something."

The two friends shared a quick laugh. Chloe turned around in the space pursed her lips. "We're missing something." She stood and cleared the dust from her pants, before further scanning the space. "There's got to be an entrance we don't see."

Sam sucked his tooth in thought and stood. "Why not just come in here and blow it up?" He was genuinely curious. 

"Well, unless you want a sinkhole that would probably collapse this whole thing and crush anything below, I don't think that's an option." Chloe gave one last perusal of the large room and headed for the exit. "We should head back. I want to look at those maps again. We're missing some-

Chloe trailed off as she heard footsteps. She pressed a finger against her lips when Sam opened his mouth. Chloe tapped her ear and then pointed towards the narrow entry path. Sam nodded in understanding as he went to stand on the other side of the entry and they both pulled out their guns and waited, listening to the crunch of booted feet on the gravel get closer. Their timing was nearly perfect, as a foot crossed the threshold and a pair of eyes went wide in panic upon noticing both Chloe and Sam. His shock was superseded by the searing pain in his groin followed by the welcoming black of unconsciousness thanks to the butt of Chloe's 9mm smashing into his temple. 

Sam reached down and dragged his body fully into the space before he ripped the Ak-47 from his shoulder. He grabbed the radio from his jacket pocket and stood up with a hiss. “Motherfucker! Look.” 

Chloe peered down at the body and she suddenly felt like she had been punched in the gut. Even without the branding she knew what the red and white insignia on his shoulder meant: Shoreline. It also meant that Nadine was here, somewhere, perhaps watching and waiting. Chloe drew in a deep breath through her nostrils and rolled her shoulders. Now was not the time to lament, now was not the time to be angry at herself for being foolish enough to think that she and Nadine ever had a shot at making this work. She pulled those thoughts inward and instead chose to take that ball of anger and release it on mercenaries headed their way. 

She gritted her teeth. "Let's move, Sam." 

Sam just nodded as he followed behind Chloe, mirroring her movements as they moved up the corridor, weapons at the ready. The corridor was empty save for one patrolling guard at the mouth of the tunnel. On his second pass, Chloe reached out and with a strong tug, she horse-collar tackled him to the ground. He could barely yelp before she cracked the grip of her 9mm against his skull. She picked up his automatic rifle in stride and they moved up the path towards the exit and hoped for the best.

The best turned out to be out to be a significantly size squadron of mercenaries fanning out for patrol. It went without saying that both Chloe and Sam immediately scanned the area for any glimpse of Nadine. Chloe was still undecided as to whether she felt relief or disappointment - whatever the case, her musings would have to wait. She scanned the open space before them and groaned to herself. Nearly two hundred yards of desert lay between them and the other side of the fence. Assuming they could make it safely over, they still had to make it clear across more uninhabited space before they even made it back to the road. The defunct military base left them with very few options to hide, in an attempt to make a stealthy exit. Moving in crouched positions, they stayed behind the large trucks that littered the space, understanding that eventually, the trucks would run out, leaving them only with open space. With a nod towards Sam, Chloe gave her best smile of confidence and then took off towards an abandoned tent. 

A few steps into her stride, a muffled "hey!" rang out and then the sound of gun fire shattered the desert night. Running while simultaneously firing a gun had never been Chloe's strong suit, but the desert landscape left them both no choice as they headed away from the open space beyond the fence and towards a parking pad littered with a few parked Jeeps and a several rows of unpacked crates. 

Chloe was turning and firing when a bullet zipped past her ear and then another seared a gash into her shoulder. She stumbled but kept her balance. Sam was behind her and pushing her forward as they dove behind some crates. 

"Fucking hell!" Chloe took big gulps of air to get her breathing under control. She winced at her shoulder and checked on Sam. "Still here?"

"You sure know how to show a guy a good time!" He punctuated his words with a quick blast of gun fire in the direction behind Chloe's head.

She laughed in response and sent a few volleys of fire to her left. Between gun smoke and dust, visibility was becoming an issue. "I don't think we're making the fence."

"We need to thin this crowd." 

The pair used the crates and parked cars to their advantage, weaving in and out of the space while firing at kneecaps and soft exposed flesh. When Chloe's rifle came up empty, she waited behind two stacked crates and swung the rifle like bat, smashing the advancing guard in the throat before slamming the stock down the back of his neck. She picked up his rifle and found another space to crouch and wait. Eyes darted about in a search for Sam. She found him moments later, when he came tumbling into her periphery. 

A bloodied Sam scrambled backwards in an awkward crab walk, searching for a gun. Or sledgehammer. Or some other miracle that would perhaps even the odds between him and the hulking behemoth of a man lumbering towards him. In the hopes of buying Sam just the blink of a moment that he would need to grab a gun, Chloe jumped off the hood of a parked Jeep and leapt onto the giant man's back. She focused her steady punches at the man's impossibly hard neck in the hopes of aggravating his vagus nerve or simply being enough of a nuisance. 

A nuisance was all Sam needed. The flurry of punches was enough to interrupt the large man's advance. He stopped stalking towards Sam and instead focused his attention on the gnat of a woman on his back. Tree-trunk wide arms swung back awkwardly in an attempt to dislodge Chloe. Finally, with a gruff growl, he took quick steps backwards and slammed into the Jeep.

The air expelled from Chloe's lungs with a less than pleasing moan, but she didn't let go. The massive man sensed his advantage and drove himself back hard against the armored Jeep. He felt the woman's arms go limp even before he stepped forward. 

Chloe fell away from his body in an unconscious heap of limbs. He was bending down in a move to pick her up when a bullet tore through his shoulder. Furious eyes turned on Sam, and he took two heavy steps in his direction before a succession of bullets ripped through his torso and eventually his skull. 

With a shaky chuckle, Sam uttered "timber", just as the impossibly tall man careened forward to the ground. 

Sam's next move was to Chloe. He felt for a pulse and patted her check gently. Apparently, breathing and awake was too much to ask. He snapped his head around in reaction to the sound of gunfire headed in their direction. Sam grabbed onto Chloe's arm and hoisted her up and over his shoulder and moved towards safe cover. The fence was nearly 100 yards away, and now with an unconscious Chloe that short sprint was going to be more like a quarter mile on two bad hamstrings. He sat her down behind the cover of crates and another parked Jeep. Sam checked the clip in the rifle and sighed at the nearly half empty magazine. Peering around the wheel well of the Jeep, he could see at least ten advancing mercenaries. With the aid of cover, their position remained hidden for at least a few minutes more. Blue eyes cut towards the Jeep. If he could just get the car started then they could just drive out of here and he'd do his best to lose them across the river. 

A rip of gunfire and a splatter of splinters from a crate refocused his attention. From cover he sent back a volley of gunfire and was pleased to see that 10 advancing mercenaries had become 9. Unsurprisingly, his responding gunfire had given away their general location. Sam waited out the steady stream of gunfire and glanced over at Chloe's still body, his eyes lingering on the blooming blood stain beginning to seep through the material of her stolen jacket at the shoulder. He fired blindly from behind the crate and eyed the Jeep once more. Even if he couldn't get it started, it was going to be better protection from the volley of gunfire. 

The sound of two consecutive explosions rattled the earth and kicked up a swirl of dust. He used the natural smoke screen and dragged Chloe's limp body towards the Jeep on the left and propped her up behind the wheel. He fired wildly into the air to buy them time before he yanked at the door only to be met resistance. Locked. Before he could curse at his own stupidity, the tell-tale rattle of what he assumed were flash grenades tumbled across the ground and another much closer explosion shook the earth. Sam re-gripped the Ak-47 in his arms and gritted his teeth. So, much for dying on some tropical island. He was going to die in the desert in a ratty tank top and stolen shirt that was two sizes too small. 

Gunfire peppered the Jeep and Sam took a deep breath. A too-good-to-be-true dust storm kicked up and Sam realized it was now or never. Before he could even get off his knees, the rapid staccato of heavy machine gun fire tore through the windows of the Jeep and Sam fell to his stomach. Men with guns he might be able to outmaneuver, but if that was indeed a mounted gun sending .50 caliber bullets in his direction then he might as well just put a bullet in his own head. A squeal of tires caught his attention and he realized they were being pinned in. Sam moved in front of Chloe and aimed his gun towards the blur. The swirl of sand and the smoke coming from the tossed canisters made it nearly impossible to see, but what he heard made his heart stop. 

An engine roared. A door opened. And whether harbinger of death or angel of mercy, it made no difference, as he heard the three most beautiful words in the English language being yelled to him by none other than Nadine Ross: "Get in! Now!" 

Sam scooped up Chloe and mostly laid her across the back-bench seat of the Humvee. Nadine was already putting the Jeep in gear as he slammed the door shut and crawled through to the passenger seat. 

"What the fuck, Nadine?!" 

She barely glanced at him, more focused on the landscape while barreling through a fence. "Hold the wheel," she said tersely.

Sam did as he was told. He kept his eyes mostly forward, so that Nadine could lean out of the window and toss a bandolier filled with small grenades towards the rush of small armored trucks. Nadine settled back into the driver's seat as the sound and sight of explosions and metal smashing against metal filled the rear-view mirror. "Buckle up." 

Sam just glared at Nadine, but did as he was told. She hit the first ditch and they were momentarily airborne, and then the wheels touched the earth again and she sped across the desert like she had hell hounds on her tail. He clutched the inside door handle and kept his eyes focused forward. When they made it out of this he would be angry at Nadine, but for now, his gratefulness at her presence won out. 

Nadine crossed the river beneath the bridge and took a local road into a small village. Despite the bulkiness of the Humvee, Nadine weaved with precision down a few alleys and behind buildings. She drove towards an older row of buildings and headed straight for a building. She punched her fist up into the visor and the building that she was headed straight for revealed itself to be a garage door. The dark swallowed them up as Nadine slowed her speed and drove down a ramp, before making a slow right turn and pulling into a large concrete space. She cut the engine and lights flooded the space. 

Sam took in the underground command center and knew better than to be impressed - this was Nadine Ross after all. Of course, she had an underground lair with a team of mercenaries at her disposal. He smirked and got out of the Jeep. Sam went to open the back door only to see that Nadine had already opened the other side and was stepping in to get Chloe. 

"I can do it," he offered. His voice was rough with anger. 

Brown eyes snapped up at him and her top lip curled. She kept her eyes on Sam, even while gently gathering Chloe in her arms and stepping out of the Jeep. Sam shoved his hands in his pockets and just followed. 

The concrete bunker was no palace, but it had the amenities, Spartan as they were. There were three sets of bunks bed off to the left corner next to two sinks, and most of the right side was taken up by maps, weapons on racks, and a small row of laptops. Sam followed Nadine as she headed left towards a few single cots. A nearby table with an array of medical supplies was off to the far left. While walking, Sam made brief eye contact with the few people he saw moving about, well at least the ones who had bothered to acknowledge his presence. He watched Nadine slowly and carefully lay Chloe onto the cot as if she were made of glass. 

From behind him, another woman spoke a stream of Arabic. Nadine kept her eyes focused on Chloe while she began to peel off the military jacket, followed by the dark Henley, leaving Chloe in her customary red t-shirt. Nadine finally answered back in Arabic and Sam watched the other woman walk away. Nadine pushed black bangs away and ran hesitant fingers across the scrapes on Chloe's forehead. Brown eyes traversed Chloe's body, looking for other obvious wounds that needed tending. Seemingly satisfied, she stood up and removed the dusty tan military parka she was wearing to reveal a sweat stained white tank top. If Sam wasn't startlingly angry with her, he would've made a joke about their matching fashion sense. Instead, he held his tongue, watching while she moved to the table and squeezed hand sanitizer into her palm. She cleaned her fingers with a wet-napkin, pulled on latex gloves, and then moved to kneel next to Chloe's bleeding shoulder. 

The woman from earlier returned earlier with a small medical kit. Nadine accepted the kit with a nod before speaking to the woman once more. Dressed in the same fatigues as Nadine with a patterned shemagh scarf around her neck, she turned dark brown eyes on Sam. She spoke, and said something that sounded like "meh" to him. Sam furrowed his brow.

"Do you want water?" Nadine didn't even bother to look up when she spoke. Sam just nodded at the woman, who simply walked off with a less than subtle eye roll. Sam stood silently and watched Nadine clean and suture the wound on Chloe's shoulder. For a woman that could kill with precision and impunity, it should not have been paradoxical to see her features soften and her touch tender. Maybe paradoxical was the wrong word, but as he watched Nadine clean away dirt and blood from Chloe's face like she was a newborn, he remembered that she was the reason they were here in the first place. He nodded in thanks as he received his water and then took a long guzzle. He splashed some water on his hand and ran it across his face and through his hair. 

Nadine had removed Chloe's boots and covered her with a light blanket. She remained on her knees and just stared down at the still unconscious woman. Sam could see the worry lines just creeping into the edges of her eyes. 

"How in the world did you find us?" Sam sounded appreciative, but he also wasn't quite yet convinced that she hadn't been shooting at them. He stepped closer to where she was working as he kept speaking. "Look, we appreciate the assist and all, Nadine, but what the fuck is going on?" He was trying not to raise his voice, but Nadine was steadily working and ignoring him. His impatience won out when she didn't immediately answer. He raised his voice to grab her attention. "Don't give me that silent sentinel bullshit. What the fuck did you do?"

Her eyes and her ponytail snapped sharply as she looked up at him. "I don't want to hear it, Drake." Her voice was low.

Sam scoffed. "Do I look like I give shit what you don't wanna' hear? Does she!?" He didn't bother to keep his voice quiet. 

Nadine hopped to her feet. "Back off." She snapped off her gloves and tossed them in the trash before grabbing a cloth to wipe her face. She kept her back to Sam as he moved towards her. 

"We are not done, Nadine." He grabbed at her elbow and the sound of guns cocking had him raising his arms and stepping back. Nadine's flawless Arabic pierced the tension and people returned to whatever they had been doing before the outburst. Sam sighed. "I want an explanation. They can fucking shoot me if they want to, but I want an answer."

Nadine rolled her neck and finally looked in his direction. "I don't have answer for you."

"Bullshit." He watched as Nadine avoided his eyes. "You said you were done with Shoreline. You made her a promise."

Amber-brown eyes blazed. "Don't you think I fucking know that!" She slapped the small table causing the gathered tools to bounce. "Don't you think I'm trying to fix it!?"

Sam threw his hands in the air. "Honestly, lady, I don't what the hell you're doing. I just know that the two of us almost got mowed down by a damn APC and you show up like some damn Valkyrie in a Humvee and sure I'm happy, but I'm also fucking pissed as hell, cause once again, you're playing everybody and I want to know why."

Nadine kept her distance from Sam, using the table as a buffer between them. She glanced over at Chloe. "There's only one person I owe an explanation to and that's not you." She was no longer yelling, which made her words sting a bit more with their quiet honesty. 

He chuckled, but there was no amusement. "Well, I'm real glad you grew a fucking soul and you two are bffs, but you got me involved in this as well, and I think I deserve to know."

Nadine smirked and looked him in the eye. "Doesn't feel good to be treated like you're expendable, does it?"

The question hung between them like a grenade with the pin pulled. Although India had made them reluctant partners, they had never really discussed their last encounter in pursuit of Avery's gold. Sam held her gaze until the truth settled in his throat like a dry cough itching to get out. "What? You want an apology?"

She chuckled. "Ja, I kinda’ do." She raised a brow in challenge. 

Sam sucked his tooth. "Welp, if we live through this, then I'll throw you an apology party." Nadine just shook her head. "What am I supposed to tell her?" He gestured towards Chloe.

Nadine walked back towards Chloe and stood over her. She shrugged before squatting next to the cot. "Tell her whatever you want." Nadine stared openly at Chloe, perhaps memorizing the angles of her face, the curve of her lips, the length of her lashes, the line of her jaw. "None of it will matter, if I can't fix this."

Sam scratched at the stubble on his chin in frustration. "Then, let us help."

Nadine sighed and brushed a strand of hair off Chloe's cheek. "You already have a job." She looked up at him. "Find the tomb first. I'll deal with the rest." She folded down one knee so it was easier to lean forward, enabling her to press a soft kiss to Chloe's brow. Nadine inhaled softly as she closed her eyes in contemplation and touched her forehead to Chole's. _"Ek is jammer._ " She whispered the words out in a soft breath and pressed another quick kiss to her cheek. 

Nadine stood up and called to a bespectacled young man. He nodded at Sam before handing her an envelope and then walked away. Nadine promptly handed the envelope over to Sam.

Sam did a quick double-take at the man and wondered why he looked familiar, but he was gone before it even mattered. He looked down at the envelope as he reached for it. "What's this?"

"A map." Nadine grabbed a clean taupe colored button down, with the familiar red and white insignia, from a hook and put it on.

"Huh? We already have a map."

"That's the map to the map."

"O-kay?" His confusion was evident in his tone.

She grinned. "It'll make sense once you look at it." She tucked her shirt into her pants and re-cinched her belt. "You have everything you need." She waited until Sam met her eyes. "You have the maps, the box, and her brain." 

"Not to mention my good looks." He was proud of his joke.

The corner of Nadine's mouth quirked up. "Ja, sure, that." She looked over once more at Chloe and quickly looked away. 

He watched again as what he could only described as regret, passed over Nadine's features. "Look, Nadine, I—”

With a shake of her head, she cut him off. "Just save it, Drake, eh? You know, for the apology party we'll both be throwing." She managed a small grin.

Sam wanted to retort that hers was probably going to be more lavish than his, but instead he just nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Nadine stood up straight and looked him in the eye. "Keep her safe, Drake." There was the barest hint of a tremor in Nadine's voice. Brown eyes roamed over Chloe's face once more, like it was going to be the last time. She check her watch and then turned her attention back to Sam. "If she's not awake in an hour then wake her up. If you need something, ask Yara or Remi." She pointed towards the two people she had spoken to earlier. "Lay low for a bit. Get some sleep and they'll take you where you need to go when you're ready." 

Sam just nodded and watched as Nadine walked off towards the garage they had entered through and disappeared around a corner. 

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * _Ek is jammer - I'm sorry_
> 
> **That sort of counted as a reunion right? ;)  
> I promise everyone will be conscious next time...maybe. :)


	8. The Find of a Lifetime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Team Shenanigans any closer to finding the tomb than they were before? And how long can Nadine keep playing both sides? And will Sam ever get a new tank top? It's time for Chloe and Sam to go do a little tomb raiding.

Upon waking, there was a brief moment when Chloe thought she was still back in their hotel in Cairo, and that perhaps too many shots at the bar had caused her to tumble from the bed and fall asleep on the floor. It wouldn't have been the first time that the floor was a better spot to sleep, on account of the room would often stop spinning as a result. However, the tightness and dull throb in her shoulder, along with the faint headache helped her recall that they had indeed left the Cairo hotel and if her limbs were true, then they had escaped the desert. As she cracked open her eyes she found Sam sprawled out as much as he could be on a tiny cot to her left. Well, at least they were together she thought. Without moving, she took stock of her body parts, wiggling toes and fingers and stretching. She was pleasantly surprised to find that she was neither restrained nor was she missing anything. 

She lay still on her side, feigning sleep, as she began to take in her surroundings. It was a cavernous concrete space from what she could see and hear. There was very little movement but she could hear the steady hum of generators. Chloe looked over at Sam, who slept like he didn't have a care in the world. She almost hated to wake him. Almost. Slowly, she reached out her arm across the small space between them and plucked his nose. Sam swatted at the sensation, but didn't wake up. Chloe rolled her eyes. This time she sent a quick slap to his cheek. 

Sam sat up with a jolt and nearly spilled off the cot. He gripped the metal rods and steadied himself, frantically looking about the space and then back and to his right, to find a smirking Chloe. "Christ almighty, Frazer." He groaned and then lay back down. "You couldn't have just whispered sweet nothings in my ear?"

"Wasn't sure I could move." She smirked. "Where the hell are we and what happened?"

Sam yawned and stretched to buy himself time. "Well, there was the whole getting knocked out, so there's that."

Chloe just arched an eyebrow. "I believe I was saving your ass."

"And I thank you for that." He draped his arm over his head. 

"And?" she prodded.

"And let's just say that we got some help from some people who aren't quite ready for that tomb to be unearthed by Shoreline."

With a small groan, she eased herself up into a sitting position. She ran her hand through her hair and pulled off the ponytail holder in the hopes that would relieve the building tension. With a grimace, she lifted her shoulder and looked at the small neat stitches. "So, should I thank you for the stitches?" She was skeptical. 

Sam let out a mewl of displeasure at his sore limbs and sat up. "Uh, sure. What can I say, I've been practicing." He grinned.

Chloe just rolled her eyes to the sky in disbelief before she scanned the room, finding only three people dressed in khaki colored clothing and wearing shemaghs milling about. She made eye contact with a woman sitting at a table in front of a laptop and the woman quickly looked away. "Seriously, Sam where are we? Not that I'm not grateful, but this is –“ 

She stopped talking as she saw the woman from the table walk over towards them. She kept her hands in the pockets of her vest instead of wrapped around the rifle strapped to her back. "Do you need some water?" She addressed Chloe in perfect crisp English. Her accent gave away what was no doubt British schooling at the least. "I can get you more pain pills if you need them."

Chloe gave her a small smile. "I would love both of those things actually. Thanks."

Both Sam's mouth and eyes were wide open. "Wait, you speak English!?" 

Yara winked in Sam's direction and shrugged a shoulder. "You didn't ask," she quipped before walking away.

Sam squeaked. "She didn't ask either," he grumbled mostly to himself.

Chloe snickered. "Sorry, mate." 

Yara returned with water and pills and held them both out to Chloe. "We brought your things." She pointed to a corner where two duffel bags were stacked. "Whenever you are ready, let me know, but I'd wait at least another hour till sundown." 

Yara turned to walk away, but Chloe stood up in response. She wobbled a bit and both Sam and Yara reached out to steady her. "I'm good everybody." Chloe downed the pills and took a swig of water. "Is anybody going to tell me where we are and what's going on?"

The woman glanced down at Sam who was still sitting on the cot. "Ask him." She winked at Sam once more and walked away.

"Oh, that's real nice, Yara. Thanks for nothing." Sam raked his fingers through his hair and stood up. 

"You two need some time alone to work this out? Just how long was I out?" She laughed despite her confusion. 

He looked down at his watch. "Ignoring the nudging to make sure you were awake the first few hours, about 6 hours actually. That's not bad. But, um, yeah, we had a little help obviously. Seems we are not the only people on the trail of the tomb and uh, these kind local folks are a bit more helpful than the ones who were shooting at us."

Chloe eyed him silently while she meandered around the small space they were standing in. She saw her shoes neatly placed at the end of the cot. And then there was her dark grey Henley, which was folded on a stool next to the med kit. She eyed the table with the orderly tools for cleaning. Chloe took a deep breath to release the tension in her shoulders before gathering long hair into a ponytail. She simply thought she was being paranoid and even a bit foolish, and if she was honest, she was waiting for the pain killers to alleviate the dull throb behind her eyes. Chloe puffed out her cheeks and then shoved her hands in the pockets of her pants. She turned quickly on her heels and faced Sam with a frown on her face.

Sam had been holding his breath for the most part and wondering exactly how he was going to say what he needed to say. Although, he was still hoping for an easy way out of this conversation. As he watched Chloe scrunch up her brow in confusion, he realized this was not going to go the way he wanted. He asked the obvious. "What's wrong?"

She pulled her hand out of her pocket and came away with two small wooden carvings. In addition to small Indian elephant there was now a very intricately carved Ganesh, his hands down in a position of surrender and submission just like the statue of Ganesh when they had found the tusk, so many months ago. So, many months ago when the thought of Asav hurting Nadine or Sam another second more compelled her to solve the puzzle. She had watched as Asav's men had restrained both of her friends, kicking and punching with intent to torture. The choice between saving Nadine and Sam or solving the puzzle had been no choice at all. 

Chloe clutched the carvings and squeezed her fist tight. She could feel her pulse jumping in her neck as her heartbeat picked up. "Sam, where is she?" Her words were low and deliberately spaced out as she spoke through clenched teeth. 

Sam held his hands up. "Chloe, I really don't know."

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut and expelled a shaky breath before opening them again. She stared hard at Sam and stepped into his personal space. "But she was here, wasn't she? Don't lie to me, Sam." Her voice cracked. 

Sam looked down at his shoes and sighed. Chloe let loose a hollow chuckle. "Fuck me," she hissed under her breath. "Do they know where she is?" She swung her hand in Yara's direction. 

"I really don't know. She showed up and she brought us here." He looked at her with sad eyes.

"She just showed up!?" Incredulous, Chloe furrowed her brow and looked down once more at the carvings in her hand. Chloe let loose a sarcastic "Ha!", before she flopped back down on the cot and put her head in her hands. Her shoulders shook with a mix of rage and perhaps even some relief. Rage at the fact that Nadine was indeed here and indeed watching, but also relief that she was actually here and watching, and apparently swooping in to save them when it most mattered. Chloe lifted her head and nibbled on her thumbnail in thought. Maybe it was the remnants of what was probably a concussion or just the jumble of thoughts running through her head, but she found it hard to think straight. 

For the past three weeks, she felt like she was coming apart at the seams because the person she had come to rely on, to care for, had simply walked away with barely an explanation. For three weeks, Chloe had felt like somehow, she had pushed Nadine away or she had somehow been too aloof or even too flirty. She had pondered everything until she couldn't find answers in the bottom of a glass or someone else's sheets. To make matters worse, the sex hadn't even been the distraction that she wanted. In the months before, she had derived more pleasure out of listening to Nadine laugh or making her smile than she had gotten out a couple of lackluster one-night stands, which were in reality piss-poor substitutions for what she wanted but couldn’t have. For three weeks, all she had wanted was a chance to apologize - for what she wasn't sure- a chance to be angry or just a chance to understand. And now, here she was, on a cot in some North African desert bunker chasing Nadine's shadow, still desperate for answers, and mostly just in need of her friend. 

Chloe opened her hand and peered down at the small carvings, silently willing the carvings to tell her what Nadine needed her to know. Nadine was terrible at being subtle, not because she couldn't be subtle, but because frankly, she thought it a waste of time. Why play games, when you could just say what you wanted. It was possible they were simply meant for a chess set and Nadine found them to be some ironic sign or message that Chloe was yet to understand. Or maybe Nadine had taken up whittling in her spare time and decided to give them to her as some kind of weird parting gift. Chloe didn't put it past her to have learned the skill in her spare time. Nadine was a fount of facts and a walking compendium of information, so surely whittling was one of a thousand skills she had squirreled away for use. Chloe smirked to herself and kept her eyes fixed on the wood. The Indian elephant with its little ears and double-dome, just like the calf they helped in the ruins of Belur, and now Ganesh, in the position of surrender, willingly sacrificing himself for the honor of his father. The words humility and sacrifice rattled around in the haze of her brain. Suddenly, she turned over the little elephant and scratched at the wood and lacquer with her fingernail. It took a minute, but she begin to see the near microscopic edge of hardware, more than likely a high-tech tracker. Chloe shook her head in confusion and sighed once more, as she closed her fist tight around the carvings. "Damn it, Nadine. What are you doing?" She whispered to herself. Finally, Chloe pocketed the wooden pieces and looked up at Sam, who still stood near the cot. "What did she tell you?"

Sam sat down on the cot across from Chloe. "She told us to get to the tomb first."

Chloe blinked in surprised. "Did she now?"

"And she also gave us a new map." Sam grinned and reached for the envelope in the back pocket of his pants.

Chloe took the envelope, but didn't open it. "And that's it? No explanation? No, who they hell these guys are?" She tapped her foot on the ground.

Sam shook his head. "Not a damn thing, other than they'll take us wherever we need to go, once the sun goes down."

Chloe frowned and started pulling on her boots. "And she didn't say anything to you about Shoreline?"

"Nope, not a thing." His response was immediate and it was not the complete truth. 

If Chloe realized his omission, she made no mention nor did she bother to press the issue. Instead she nodded and laced up her boots. "Fine then, tell your girlfriend over there we're ready to go. And then let's you and I figure out this map and beat those fuckers to the tomb." Her lopsided grin made an appearance, and for the first time in three weeks, Chloe was starting to feel a bit more like herself.  
\--  
Duffel bags and two extra automatic rifles were stacked in the trunk of a dusty old Jeep before Chloe, Sam, and their two escorts piled into the car. Chloe sat in the passenger seat with Sam next to Remi on the backseat and Yara behind the wheel. 

The engine rumbled to life with a turn of a key and Yara glanced over at Chloe with a small and slightly tight grin. "Hope you don't mind. Just easier this way."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at the woman next to her and let out a dry huff of laughter. "Lucky for you, I don't know where I'm going." She waved towards the garage. "Drive on." Sam tried to stifle his snicker, but Chloe glared at him nonetheless. Yara drove up the dimly lit ramp and they turned onto a small side street under the dusky sky. 

Yara weaved the Jeep through the narrow alleyways with ease until they made their way off road briefly before heading out to the main road. The ride was silent. Chloe stared out of the tinted window, lost in the blur of the landscape. Yara steered the Jeep towards a small enclave of buildings and Chloe looked over at the woman. With skin the color of the desert sand, she was trim and toned, looking more like someone that both Chloe and Nadine should’ve have been going to yoga class with instead of shepherding her through the desert. Dark brown hair hung in loose curls that just barely touched her shoulders and she wore her aviator sunglasses pushed up into her hair to act as a makeshift headband, keeping her hair from falling into her eyes. She had a sharp jaw line and lips that were naturally pursed, while her dark eyes scanned the area as she drove. 

Chloe breached the silence. "Do you know where she is?" 

Yara never took her eyes from the road as she answered. "I'm afraid I don't."

Chloe nodded. Yara pulled up next to a short building and put the car in park. Chloe kept her eyes on the woman, even as she grabbed the door handle in preparation to get out of the car. "You wouldn't tell me if you did know, would you?" Instead of answering, Chloe could see the right corner of her mouth curve up in the hint of a grin. With a nod of understanding, Chloe exited the car followed by everyone else. If there was one thing she understood about Nadine, it was that she prided loyalty above all else. She knew the answers that she would get from Yara, but she needed to ask. It was clear why Nadine trusted her. 

Sam shouldered both duffel bags and Chloe grabbed the bag with the rifles. Remi handed Chloe a key and a code before he nodded goodbye and got into the passenger seat. "It's been real, Yara. Call me." Sam winked at the woman and headed towards the front door of the building.

Yara's eyes went wide and she tried hard not to smile before giving Sam a flimsy salute.

Chloe just shook her head at him. "He's a good guy, really."

This time she did grin. "Not my type." She sobered quickly and handed Chloe another key. "For the Jeep in the garage. I suggest -

Talking over her, Chloe blurted out, "did you sleep with her?" She inwardly groaned as soon as the words tumbled from her mouth, realizing a nanosecond too late that her sudden surge of jealously was a bit hypocritical at worst, and at best, it was an awkward confession of the fact that what she wanted from Nadine went far beyond the camaraderie and mutual respect they had built over the four months since India. 

Yara took a quick step back as if Chloe had shoved her, and firmly answered, "No." She let out a shaky chuckle before making an obvious show of trailing her eyes up Chloe's body to her face. She smirked. "Believe me, not an option."

Chloe felt her cheeks burn and was thankful for the lack of streetlights. 

Yara picked up her sentence. "Suggest you wait a couple of hours before heading out. You still have the head start. _Hazz sa'eed_ " She smiled at Chloe and then headed for the car.

Chloe didn't bother to watch them pull off as she met Sam at the door and then punched in the key code and headed inside.  
\--

Nadine had been right; they had everything they needed. Chloe and Sam spent the better part of an hour in the small one room apartment using the new map to figure out their route. The small gold box turned out to be a key to unlock the cipher on the new map, which Chloe used to gleefully trace out the new route on the map, earning an exuberant shout and a high-five from Sam. "Shall we pay a visit to the Queen." 

Moments later they were geared up and headed North back into Lower Egypt towards Saqqara and speeding towards the unfinished pyramid. The rusty Jeep with the military tags gained them entrance to the mostly defunct military base, where they stashed the Jeep next to a make shift infirmary tent. With only the square base of the pyramid complete, they made quick work of heading to the south side towards the original corridor that led to the burial shaft. Original 20th century excavations had only gone so far, before the military had taken over the site. Sam followed behind Chloe as they disappeared down the steep stairwell leading to the burial chamber. Flashlights danced about and illuminated the dark as they took their time getting across the smooth granite surfaces leading to the East wall. Chloe handed over her flashlight to Sam so that she could find the right sequence of stones. With a clear picture of the box in her head, Chloe made quick work of the sequence and stepped back as a hissing sound of air releasing filled the room. Standing alongside Sam, they watched a slab of granite ease away from the ground, opening a 5-foot high crawl space. Sam's wide smile mirrored Chloe's and they headed down into the dark. It was obvious from the map that this corridor was the link between the two pyramids and would take them well below the Layer Pyramid. Their path and descent took them nearly a mile from the original destination, as they traversed ancient stone paths and walkways, until a large slab of granite stopped their path. 

"Sam, look for a crank or something. Or a lever. This thing is built to open." 

The light bounced around the room for a moment before Sam yelled out. "Got it."

"Sweet. Give it a tug."

Chloe could hear Sam's grunts of exertion and for a moment it seemed mostly likely that they were going to be stopped. Finally, an unearthly groan emanated from behind the wall and then there was the slow crunch of movement. The top of the slab began to inch down into the floor at a snail's pace, which was far slower than the pulsing beat of Chloe's heart. "Just a few another foot and we can climb over."

Between breaths he growled out, "you know - you could - help." He yelped a bit towards the end as he let go of a grunt. 

Chloe smiled. "That's good enough."

"Oh, thank God!" He chuckled with relief and joined her in scaling the wall. 

Up and over they went with ease. The moment Chloe's boots hit the ground she flipped on her flashlight and reached for the cache of flares she brought in her rucksack. She began littering the path with flares and Sam followed suit until a red-orange glow filled space. 

Chloe's touched trembling fingertips to her lips as grey eyes opened wide in wonder. Where she had no words, Sam's squeal of delight along with a wondrous "holy shit" filled the space. "Chloe, please tell me this isn’t a mirage?"

They stood across from one another with a very real sarcophagus between them.

A wide smile was her response. "No worries mate, that is real deal." Chloe took a few steps closer to the raised pedestal on which the sarcophagus sat. 

"How do we make sure this isn't just some other dude?"

Chloe chuckled and began to wipe away some gathered dust and dirt. Considering how long this tomb had gone untouched, the sarcophagus and space in general were in good shape. A closer look around the tomb would reveal the accessories and accouterments that were often found in pharaohs tombs, but for now, she only had eyes for the intricate designs and carvings. She pulled out her camera and started to snap photos of the top and the sides, careful not to disturb the material too much. 

Sam watched while Chloe mumbled to herself and snapped photo after photo, making her way twice around the pedestal. "Either way, this is big, right?"

Chloe stopped at the head of the sarcophagus and snapped a final close up picture. She finally looked in Sam's direction and smiled. "I'm no expert, but I think Horus Khaba is going to have to explain why he has breasts." She smirked and showed Sam a few of the detail pictures she had taken. "When we get back to the top, these should send to Safi, but long story short," she began while leaning in close to Sam. "We. Fucking. Did. It." She whispered the words to Sam almost as if she didn't believe it herself. Sam swept her off her feet in huge bear hug and howled in delight. "Put me down, you idiot," Chloe said through a much needed laugh. 

She watched with a happy smile as Sam skipped around the large tomb prattling on about what he was going to buy. Chloe secured her phone in her bag and peered closely at the carvings. Sam was right, this was going to be life altering in every way imaginable regardless of how much of a finder's fee they got. She let her fingertips ghost over a few markings and she sighed just a bit. Despite her anger and confusion at everything, Chloe couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if Nadine were here with them - with her. As undeniably good as this felt, there was still some part of her that felt a little off balance. Chloe could imagine the look on Nadine's face: brown eyes wide and a wide smile that showed her teeth and made her dimples pop. She'd probably start spouting facts about how they made the sarcophagus or what oils they used in mummification and Chloe would just be all smiles in awestruck wonder at her Nadine. Maybe Nadine would have gathered her into a tight hug and Chloe would have fought hard to keep her knees from buckling at the feel of strong arms secure around her and holding her close. Maybe they would hold onto to each for far longer than appropriate, and maybe just maybe in all the excitement of the moment, one of them would ignore their insecurities and stop making excuses and say the thing that they had been dying to say for months. Or maybe if that was too much, one of them would at least use the excitement of the moment to celebrate with the kind of kiss that couldn't be explained away by a ruse for a job or aided by one too many drinks and too many hours without sleep. 

Chloe was so lost in her musings that she only snapped out of her day dream when Sam clapped her on the shoulder. "You still with me, Frazer?"

She shook her head and smiled. "All good. Guess I got lost in my shopping list." She covered her lie with a laugh and Sam just smiled in agreement. "We should probably get back topside. Need to get a signal and then figure out the next step. Not sure how much of a head start we have, but -

A rattling sound caught their attention followed by sound of metal canisters hitting the gravel. 

Sam grabbed Chloe by the back of her shirt and yanked hard just as the canisters exploded, sending acrid gas into the chamber. Between the smoke and the high-pitched whine of the flash grenade both Chloe and Sam were disorientated and unable to avoid or retaliate against the gathering bodies that they could mostly feel and not see. Kicks to the backs of their legs had them on their knees with hands clasped behind their heads and the press of gun muzzles to their backs. A few moments of coughing passed before the air cleared somewhat and Chloe and Sam set their eyes on the small cadre of gun-toting, gas-mask wearing mercenaries. 

Joseph's chuckle was muffled by the mask as he peeled it off. "Well isn't this a surprise." A smarmy smile lifted only the right side of his mouth awkwardly. "And to think I wanted to kill you." His eyes fell appraisingly on Chloe who simply arched a slim eyebrow. "And Sam Drake, you are just an unexpected surprise. I feel like I hit the lottery."

Sam squinted his still watery eyes and tried to place why the man's disfigured face looked familiar. 

Joseph nodded in understanding. "I was much prettier the last time you saw me on that boat."

Recognition filled Sam's eyes and then he grimaced a bit. "Well, if it's any consolation, I think it healed nicely."

Joseph's smile fell and Chloe snickered. She glanced over at Sam. "Do I get an introduction?"

"This is Shoreline's finest," Sam answered, his tone dubious. “Joseph.”

Chloe looked at Joseph with disdain. "Where's your boss?"

His weird smile returned. "Ahh, that's right." He winked at Chloe. "Well, technically I think I'm her boss."

Chloe blinked in surprise. "If that's what you need to believe to keep yourself happy." 

Joseph laughed. "Search her bag." 

A burly man roughly grabbed at the rucksack still strapped to Chloe's back. "Jeez, be nice bub. I swear it’s only tampons and some chapstick." 

He shoved Chloe as he rummaged through the bag and looked back up quickly, cheeks now filling with red. "Uh, she wasn't kidding."

Chloe's smile was smug and Joseph just rolled his eyes. "Fine. Cuff them both and let's go. And then tell Krieger to get down here to authenticate our find." Joseph looked both Chloe and Sam in the eye as he spoke. He was elated by the prospect of making sure they both knew that he was going to take credit for everything.

"Joseph, you sure we all can't cut a deal?" Sam asked. 

Joseph chuckled. "If there's one thing I learned from Rafe, it's to cut out the middle man. Especially, if the middle man is a Drake."

Once cuffed, Chloe and Sam were both on their feet just as the room exploded. The force of the granite wall crumbling sent rubble and bodies in different directions. The next few moments were a blur of gun fire, shouting, and shoving. Chloe rolled onto her side and wriggled until she got her cuffed hands out from under her legs. Once her bound hands were in front of her, she scanned the room from Sam and hopped to her feet. 

"Sam, let's move." With a grunt, he was on his feet and they used the confusion to escape the tomb and head back through the corridor. Neon green flares made for a gumdrop colored path back to the steep stairwell and finally out into the cool desert night. 

They stumbled out of the entrance into smoke, flames, and gun fire. Instead of the peaceably cool night, they ascended the stairs into chaos. Vehicles were aflame and the air crackled with gunfire and shouts. Sam came to a stop as he looked around and tried to get his bearings. "What the fuck?!" 

"No time, Sam!" Chloe tugged his shirt. "Head for the Jeep!" A small fire fight was going on all around them as they headed for cover and eventually towards the direction of the parked Jeep. Crouching behind an abandoned porta-potty, Chloe started picking the lock on her cuffs. She managed to get free just as gun fire perforated the top of the portable bathroom. She swore she heard, the words, "Over there! Find them!" Neither she nor Sam bothered to wait. 

The rumble of an APC sent them scurrying in opposite directions as they avoided the rapid high velocity gunfire. Eventually, Chloe found herself squatting behind an empty tent as she waited for the best moment to run the 100 yards to the Jeep. Machine gun fire burned across the ground a few feet to her right and she realized her window was closing. At her back, a loud explosion rocked the earth and she could hear what sounded like motorcycles overrunning the area. It was now or never. Chloe stood up amidst a squall of sand and gunfire and made a break for the Jeep, only to be stopped before she could get going by an ATV spinning out and coming to a stop in her immediate path - its rider obscured by googles and a scarf covering the rider's entire face. 

Before Chloe could come up with a snappy one-liner in the hopes of buying herself some time to escape, a voice she hadn't heard in three weeks hit her eardrums with all the force of a concussive grenade.

Slightly muffled by the scarf and punctuated by gunfire, Nadine's command was clear: "Let's move, Frazer!" 

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ducks behind couch. I can't decide if this is a cruel cliffhanger or a merciful one? But hey, at least they are both awake this time!  
>  **  
> **  
>  _Hazz sa'eed - good luck_  
>  ** _Chapter IX Preview: "Upon stopping, Chloe's arms released from around her waist as if she were stung by a scorpion. She felt Chloe jump off the back and Nadine couldn't help but let her shoulders sag in defeat. This was the risk she had taken and it was the very reason why she hated taking risks. Risks got people hurt. Risks got people killed."_  
>  **


	9. Reunited and it feels so good...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe and Nadine meet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Okay, campers, it's been a heap of chapters, but finally these two meet again. Here goes nothing!

Chloe's feet moved before her brain and on instinct she hopped on the back of the ATV and wrapped her arms around Nadine's midsection to keep from falling off the speeding vehicle. Without her own pair of goggles, Chloe kept her face buried in between Nadine's shoulder blades and turned her face to the side to avoid the flying sand and debris. Thanks to the sandstorm the ATVs were causing she could barely make out the other riders, but she could hear Sam's shouting, so the knowledge that he was still alive would have to serve as a good sign. Gun fire trailed them as they raced across the desert and alongside the bank of the Nile, crossing under bridges and zooming through a small village before a few quick turns had them entering the underground garage and headed down the long dark ramp. 

Nadine finally came to a stop on the concrete and cut the motor just as the overhead lights flooded the space. Upon stopping, Chloe's arms released from around her waist as if she were stung by a scorpion. She felt Chloe jump off the back and Nadine couldn't help but let her shoulders sag in defeat. This was the risk she had taken and it was the very reason why she hated taking risks. Risks got people hurt. Risks got people killed. Nadine had predicated her life on mitigating the circumstances and avoiding risk. After all, how could it be a risk once you covered every possible angle? 

And that was what made her partnership with the impulsive thief such a risk and they both knew it. How did one actually plan for Chloe Frazer? In four months, other than learning to "relax" (or at least desperately trying) she was no closer to figuring out the puzzle that was Chloe Frazer. The only thing she did know for sure, was that she was willing to risk their friendship to keep Chloe safe. If given the chance to explain, maybe that would be enough to keep Chloe from hating her. Maybe.

Chloe waited until they were safe in the garage before she remembered to breathe. The engine had barely settled before she hopped off the bike and started pacing with fury. She halted her movement upon seeing Nadine get off the bike, pull her goggles off, and then start to peel the scarf away from her head and face. Chloe managed to bite back her swift intake of air, as she took in the sight of Nadine after so long. Curly brown hair in her customary low ponytail, edges frizzy from sweat, eyes cast down on the floor as she removed her gloves. Rage and relief were the clearest emotions that Chloe could pinpoint at the moment and so, like always, she reacted on impulse, which meant that relief could wait. In two long strides, she moved towards Nadine and she took a swing. 

Still standing by the four-wheeler, Nadine just watched and waited patiently for Chloe to stop pacing. Her face was flush and a thin layer of sweat and sand clung to her chin and forehead. She could see that Chloe was furious, but all that Nadine could think about was how much she had missed her face, her creased brow, and her pouty lips. She kept her eyes on the ground, but she noticed when Chloe stopped pacing and headed for her on determined steps. 

Briefly, Nadine thought about letting Chloe land the slap, but reflexes won out. She blocked the incoming hand with her left forearm and then gripped Chloe's wrist. Immediately, Chloe countered with her left hand only for Nadine to deflect that one as well, and take hold of her other wrist. She kept her grip tight on her wrists in an attempt to keep Chloe's hands at her side. The action brought them into one another's space. They were too close and Chloe was not ready to deal with the relief of seeing Nadine again, of touching Nadine again. 

In the next breath, Chloe was cursing and ripping out of her grasp. "Fuck you, Nadine! I thought we were partners!" Her hands flailed as she yelled. 

Nadine kept her head high and her eyes focused on Chloe. She had missed her so very much. Chloe dragged her fingers through thick black hair in frustration before taking a deep cleansing and controlling breath. She rested her hands on her hips as Nadine kept silent, content to let her rage for as long as she needed. "You lied to me and you left me and for what?!" Chloe’s voiced cracked against the storm of her emotions. Her words were measured and slow, her voice at a low timbre, made smoldering by the hurt and confusion still swirling in her head. Nadine's silence was expected, but it wasn't helping either. Chloe could feel her words getting muddled, so she eventually reverted to the language that she knew would get a response from Nadine by shoving her hard at the shoulders. Nadine only planted her right foot back to absorb the force, and held steady. 

Chloe just gritted her teeth against her anger and grabbed two fistfuls of Nadine's tac vest, only realizing a moment too late that she didn't really have a plan. If they had been close to a wall she would have driven her into it in some show of force, but she was too close and she was too exhausted, and Nadine was right in front of her and it all seemed not to matter to much anymore. On the one hand, her worst fears had not been realized - Nadine had not betrayed her. However, she hadn't trusted her to enough to let her in. And yet, still, here she was, protecting her like always, keeping her safe like always. Chloe had wanted for so long to be in this moment, that now that she was here, she was overwhelmed by the force of what she felt. And what she felt underneath all that volcanic rage mixed with the elation of her relief, was hope. Hope that she hadn't pushed her away. Hope that they could salvage their friendship. Hope that Nadine was just as bad at this whole people/relationship thing as she was. Chloe wanted to throw a tantrum and fight and scream, but she also just wanted to collapse under the weight of how good it felt to have her partner back. She dug long fingers into Nadine’s vest and she pulled the slightly shorter woman in closer, bringing them nearly thigh to thigh, and she bent her head slightly, resting her forehead against Nadine's. The lassitude was written on her body: the dip in her shoulders, the heavy eyelids, the weak tremble in her bottom lip, and even the way she clutched at Nadine's vest. Nadine just needed to give her some sign that it was all going to be okay. Just some sign that she hadn't been wrong to hope. 

When Nadine at last uttered a word, it was just one. She swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and softly breathed out, "Chloe." Hesitantly, she touched her fingertips to Chloe's elbows and she felt the woman release the tension and frustration she had been carrying for weeks. Chloe's response was immediate. She sagged against her and wrapped her arms around Nadine's neck, just as strong arms encircled her waist. Chloe shuddered and buried her face in the crook of Nadine's neck, while Nadine only gripped her tighter and let go of a shaky sigh, her own relief seeping out. Nadine turned her head a bit and whispered into Chloe's ear. "I know you hate me right now. But I just couldn't risk you. _Ek is jammer_. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She punctuated her regret with a soft kiss underneath her ear. 

Chloe reacted with a sharp intake of breath and then her shoulders were vibrating with quiet sobs. Her tears were the ones she refused to cry when Nadine had left and her exhilaration at having her once more in her arms. Nadine only held her tight until Chloe seemed spent. Reluctantly, she loosened her hold and let Chloe step back; however, Chloe's arms remained loose around Nadine's neck. Chloe lifted her right hand to her face and wiped at errant tears. She knew her eyes were red and her cheeks puffy, but Nadine was looking at her like she had unearthed Nefertiti’s gold. "Don't look at me like that." She felt self-conscious and bare under Nadine's gaze, despite the fact that her rage still simmered just under the surface.

Nadine arched a brow. "Like what?" She played coy.

"Like you've been in the desert for days and I'm a cool class of water," she retorted.

Nadine smirked. "But I have been in the desert for days, and you are the best oasis, river, damn Monsoon I've ever seen."

Chloe groaned and laughed at the same time, while she wiped at what she thought was the transfer of her own tears on Nadine's cheek. She quickly realized they were Nadine's tears. "Don’t make me laugh, I'm still angry at you." She gulped in air and forced the smile form her face. 

Nadine nodded slowly, solemnly. "I know. Why do you think I sent you the map to the tomb?" Her answer was honest.

Chloe let out a real laugh this time. Her emotions were everywhere. "So, you thought you were just going to distract me with gold, riches, and inevitable frame?"

Without blinking or skipping a beat, Nadine responded simply, "yes."

Chloe closed her eyes and smiled. When she opened them, she found Nadine watching her intently with amber-brown eyes, still a bit unsure of where they stood. On the upside, other than the attempted well-warranted slap to the face, Chloe hadn't spit in her eye or told her to get lost. Yes, there were tears, but there were also small smiles and the thief had yet to let her go. Nadine was torn between what she wanted to explain and what she needed to ask. Brown eyes darted about in a rare show of vulnerability and uncertainty. Tentative fingertips grazed Chloe's hips, asking for permission to anchor there. For what she needed more than anything at the moment was solid ground and a place to find purchase. Unable to avoid her eyes any longer, Nadine looked up through long lashes and met gray eyes.

Chloe broke the tension for them both by leaning in and Nadine wasted no time in meeting her lips. This was not their first kiss (that went to a gallery heist that required Chloe to have an art historian for a date - enter Nadine) but it was the one that counted. It began slow and meandering, as if they needed to adjust to the idea that this was neither a daydream or a fantasy. Nadine's fingertips pressed more firmly into her hips, which spurned her on, and Chloe sent out an eager tongue to deepen the kiss. Before they both knew it, they were gasping for breath and trailing fingertips along the hem of a shirt and grooving fingers through sable locks. Nadine's firm grip on her ass snapped reality back into focus. Chloe squeaked and then moaned before dragging her lips away from Nadine's. Nadine eagerly chased after the kiss-bruised lips of her friend, but a hand on her chest halted her movement. 

"Whoa there tiger, I need a second to catch my breath." Her lips tingled and her brain buzzed.

Nadine looked down sheepishly. "Guess I missed you."

Chloe felt her knees buckle slightly, as her stomach filled with a flurry of butterflies. She touched fingertips to Nadine's chin, making the woman lift her head up. "And while I swear that I am going to spend at least a month making you show me just how much you missed me, you have to make me a promise."

Nadine nodded and readily added, "Anything."

Chloe's lips quirked up into a smile. "You can't ever go off like this again. Not without talking to me first. If we’re going to be partners, then you have to trust me with the bad stuff too. Even if that sometimes means telling each other the truth." Nadine met Chloe's eyes and the promise was clear in brown eyes. She nodded again. "I know you always want to protect me." She cupped her jaw. "But I can take care of myself." Nadine nodded and Chloe continued. "And I can take care of you as well - if you let me." 

Nadine tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and let her head drop to Chloe's shoulder. Chloe let out a happy sigh and hugged the other woman close before dropping a soft kiss to her temple. They were far from done with this conversation, but Chloe was appeased for the time being. Nadine just squeezed tighter and Chloe could care less about not being able to breath. She had waited and wanted for so long to feel this contentment that the ache of her ribs didn't even matter.

The two women could've stayed nestled in one another's embrace for at least another hour, but the mission at hand was still unfinished and even if they had momentarily forgotten, Sam sure hadn't. His too delightful tone, broke through their cocoon of reconciliation. "Could you two just hold that pose for one more second. I really want to take this photo to send to Nate."

Two pairs of eyes cut towards Sam and the women reluctantly eased away from one another. Nadine scratched at the back of her neck and she tried to fix a scowl on her face in spite of the way her lips still tingled from Chloe's kiss, and the heat she could feel in the tips of her ears. Despite her own red cheeks, Chloe narrowed her eyes playfully at Sam and sighed at him. 

"Sam, after we get back to that tomb, I'll send him a damn calendar myself." 

Sam snickered in response. "So, about that?" He looked over at Nadine who started to walk further into the bunker towards the map table. 

With Yara close on her heels, both women stopped at the long table with two laptops and a mess of maps. They were having a quiet conversation which reached crescendo as he and Chloe joined them at the table.

"Enough, Yara." Nadine didn't yell, but her tone left no room for argument. 

Yara schooled her features. "Yes, ma'am." Her tone was flat like a good soldier, but it was clear she was reluctant to agree.

Nadine pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a small sigh. "Yara," she waited until the other woman met her eyes. "I trust a handful of people. And two of them are standing right here." Nadine waited a beat for her words to wash over the soldier. Yara's eyes softened and she glanced down at the ground before looking back up to meet Nadine's eyes. "Too much is at stake and I need you there to keep it secure. Do you understand?" She got a nod in response and Nadine awkwardly cuffed her on the shoulder. "Besides, I think the Professor will be happy to see you." That comment got a small smirk to tease at the corner of Yara's mouth and the tension finally melted from her shoulders before she walked away. 

Sam folded his arms across his chest and huffed. "You know Nadine, that kind of hurt my feelings. Only two people, huh?"

Both Chloe and Nadine rolled their eyes at his dramatics. "Really, mate." Chloe patted him between the shoulder blades. "I suggest you take a number and then get in line."

Nadine added, "That's right. The apology tour bus leaves at six, sharp." She winked at Chloe.

Sam flipped them both off. "Well, this is just great. Is this how it’s going to be with you two?" He waved his finger at both women.

"Ja. Exactly." She then smiled to lessen her snarky tone. "But considering you're about to become famous and maybe even rich, I think you can deal with it."

Sam looked to ceiling and pretended to ponder her words. "You've got a point." He was all smiles again. "So, what's next?"

Nadine's answer was preempted by a loud eruption of voices that came from the garage entrance, as four people entered carrying Remi. Nadine jogged towards the men. Chloe and Sam hung back by the table as the men deposited a groggy Remi onto a cot. Neither of them needed to be able to speak Arabic to know that he had broken his ankle. Remi was nodding and smiling before Nadine returned to the table. 

"Yara," she called. "You should probably check on your brother." 

A wide-eyed Yara emerged from a back corner and quickly jogged over towards the infirmary area, leaving the three alone once more. "So, what's the next move, china?"

Nadine didn't fight the grin or try to tamp down the warm tickle of butterflies in her stomach at the sound of Chloe's endearment. "Joseph's headed back to the Citadel, which is where we're going. Yara and her team are headed back to the site to keep it secure and wait for the Professor. Speaking of." Nadine took out her phone and sent off a quick text before pocketing the phone. 

Chloe kept her eyes on Nadine while she texted and then she caught her line of sight once more. "You want to tell us more about this professor?" There was a slight arch in her eyebrow and by the way Nadine's eyes darted away, she knew the answer even before the woman answered.

Nadine shrugged and attempted to look contrite. "She is the best in the business and we both know you like to work with the best professionals there are." 

Chloe let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. "And you still think that's why I came to find you for India?" She tsked a bit and met brown eyes.

"Ouch. I think that kind of hurt my feelings." Nadine grinned to show that she really wasn't that hurt. 

"I don't know Nadine," Chloe gestured at the map table. "This was a whole lot of deception here. Maybe Sam's right about me rubbing off on you."

Nadine frowned just a touch in thought. "Deception? Really, I mean-“

Chloe cut her off with a snort of laughter. "Withholding information, sending mysterious packages, double agents, and tailing us." Chloe narrowed her eyes at the other woman. “I’m still not sure who half these people are and what’s the deal with Joseph other than he hates you and Sam?”

Nadine opened and closed her mouth and then scratched at her chin before meeting inquisitive gray eyes. She waved her hands in surrender and nodded. "I guess I did, didn't I. And the short story is that I called in some favors to deal with someone that I thought was long dead. And let’s just say he made some convincing threats." Nadine met Chloe’s eyes in the hopes of telegraphing just how much she had been bothered by his less than subtle promises.

Chloe saw the same stubborn glint in amber brown eyes that she had first seen directed towards her in India. “And you were just too stubborn to call his bluff, right?” She wasn’t angry, just curious.

Nadine held her gaze. “Didn’t want to risk it. Didn’t want to risk you." Her words, like her tone, was plain and honest. 

As usual, Nadine’s ability to lay bare her feelings in a few words made Chloe’s heart pound against her ribcage. Sometimes it was just a look or even a scant few words, but Nadine always found a way to unearth the emotions she so desperately tried to tuck away. Chloe tilted her head as she regarded the other woman. “My God, you are a stubborn dickhead.” Her lopsided grin accompanied her words.

She hummed in agreement and then mirrored Chloe's lopsided grin. "But, the payoff right?"

Chloe's chuckle was genuine. “I take it this is what you meant by having ‘shit to sort’." She stepped closer to Nadine so that they were toe-to-toe, before extending her index finger and tapping Nadine on the nose. "You're lucky I like you." Chloe bared straight white teeth and Nadine's dimple deepened as she instinctively preened at the statement. 

"Believe me, I know." Knowing she now had the permission to kiss Chloe at will, Nadine leaned forward, only to be halted by Sam clearing his throat.

"Look ladies, I'm all for sharing kisses, but can we celebrate after we get our treasure?"

"Oh, right. Yes. Treasure." A dusky pink tinged Chloe's cheeks as she stepped back and clapped her hands together.

"Yes. Plan." Nadine snatched a map off table and snapped it open. "We are headed to the Citadel. Remi will be the eyes and ears here and Yara will head to the site to wait for Professor Camara and hold the site."

"You expecting trouble at the site?" Sam asked his question as Yara and a half a dozen camouflaged clad soldiers grabbed guns off the rack and headed for the Jeeps. 

"It's what I'd do." Nadine answered. She folded the map and placed it on the table. 

Yara briefly spoke to Nadine in Arabic before holstering her rifle. She chucked Sam on the shoulder while she walked by. "Don't forget, you owe me 50." She rubbed her fingers together to indicate money.

Sam reluctantly sneered. "Yeah, yeah."

Yara's laugh echoed in the large space as she met her team in the garage. Both Chloe and Nadine eyed Sam warily. "You sure you don't want to go with Yara, Sam?" Chloe batted her eyelashes at Sam.

Sam huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "No, thank you. I'm already out 50 pounds. Ugh." Nadine and Chloe both laughed at his whining. "Whatever. Besides, I'm sure I'll get more satisfaction out of punching Joseph in the face."

Chloe and Nadine responded nearly in unison: "Get in line."

A wide-eyed Sam glanced back and forth between the two smiling women. "Oh, yeah. This partnership's just going to be awful." 

The trio allowed themselves a much-needed laugh before they geared up and headed back towards Cairo and the Citadel.

_TBC..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Welp, hope that was at least slightly worth it. I couldn't keep putting these two on the angst train any longer. In the words of the great Tara Maclay: "Can we just skip it? Can you just be kissing me now." 
> 
> Anyway, feel free to yell at me in the comments or on tumblr. It's all blood and bullets from here kids. Thanks for coming on this ride with me. 
> 
>  
> 
> _Chapter X Preview:_  
>  "...I want it all. And then, sure I’ll let you walk.” He lifted his gun and pointed it first at Sam and then at Chloe. His eyes never left Chloe’s when he spoke again. “So, what do you say?”


	10. Showdown at the House of Sand and Fog (Part I)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are those _Kill Bill_ sirens in the distance? Strap in for some explosions, blood, bullets, and bad jokes as Team Shenanigans heads off to settle old scores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wow, so sorry for the delay. I went in to clean up a few things and then I ended up with 8k plus words, two parts, and a lot of boss battles. LOL! My hand slipped. Hope you like a little action with your adventure.  
> ** And while I know I love soft Nadine, I also love Terminator-Nadine as well, so this is really an excuse to have her beat people up. Hope that works for everyone. Y'all are awesome! Come yell at me in the comments or on tumblr.

The domes of the Citadel emerged like luminescent flying saucers against the backdrop of the midnight landscape, as three military branded Humvees rumbled towards Cairo. In the days before -at Nadine's suggestion and Joseph's bribery -the tourist attraction had been closed for "mysterious cleaning and refurbishing" for the past week. Nadine had made their base of operations in the upper levels of the east stone tower which were normally used for storage. 

The three vehicles turned off in different directions, heading towards the main gates, and then the assembled members exited the parked vehicles and moved towards their mapped-out destinations, leaving Nadine, Chloe, and Sam to head to their specified locations. Nadine zipped up her lightweight armored tac-vest and could not hide the way her eyebrows rose high as she saw Chloe slip on a vest and hand one to Sam. Chloe waved her off. "What?" She was fighting a grin. "Safety first, right." She batted her eyelashes. 

Nadine shook her head in amusement and then turned away to grab a bag off the back seat before pulling out a tactical shotgun. "You two clear on the plan?"

Sam nodded. "Go to the south tower to get your laundry bag and then meet you in the west tower." He seemed less than enthused. 

"Drake," she began in a serious tone. "I need you to get the bags. They're important." She waited until he met her eyes. "I'm trusting you with this okay." 

Sam stopped pouting at her words and nodded with sincerity. "You can trust me, Nadine. I'll get the bags."

Nadine nodded. "Any hey, if there's anything else you want in there, take that too."

Sam perked up even more at that. He rubbed his hands together. "Oh! Is this like a treasure room or something."

Both Nadine and Chloe grinned. "Just get the damn bags, man." He gave her a mock salute and picked up a silenced automatic rifle. Nadine handed Chloe a long bag. "That's got all your goodies. Head to the motor pool and do your worst."

A slow smile spread across Chloe's face as she realized what was most likely in the bag. She glanced down at the bag and then back up at Nadine. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm going to do the absolute worst." 

Nadine smiled despite the severity of the situation. "Meet me in the west tower as soon as you can and then we’ll go together to the other tower. We'll only have about 30 minutes to get clear and head back to the dig site before the real military shows up here. Shoot anybody that's not us." Nadine pumped her shotgun and easily found Chloe's eyes fixed on her. She knew she was supposed to say something, but people and relationships had never really been her thing. Together they had progressed since India, but clearly there was so much more that they needed to say to one another. Nadine opened and closed her mouth, unsure of what was appropriate. 

Chloe could see the struggle cross Nadine's features. Admittedly, this was why partnerships could sometimes be so hard. What were the proper things to say to the person you were putting all your trust into? Chloe had mercy on them both as she grabbed a fistful of Nadine's vest and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "We'll see you in a bit. Go." Nadine nodded at them both and then jogged off towards the tower. Chloe and Sam walked off together before moving in opposite directions towards their destinations. 

In addition to the trio, six more of Nadine's team were spread out in and around the Citadel, effectively keeping Joseph and the rest of Shoreline trapped. The goal was to be as quiet as possible, at least until Chloe got done with the motor pool. Nadine's team worked in pairs as they fanned out across the buildings. Sam followed behind two masked soldiers as he moved towards the south building and entered the tower space there. With the silenced rifle, he shot the lock and stepped into the small room. He easily spotted the identical square canvas black bags by the far wall. He grabbed the straps and was surprised by the weight. "What the hell, Nadine?" He grumbled as he lifted the two bags that probably each weighed at least 25 pounds. He shouldered both bags and then saw the glint of gold on a metal work table. Apparently, Joseph had been helping himself to a few of the museum exhibits. Sam hesitated only for a moment before grabbing a jewel encrusted trinket from the table and heading back to find Chloe. 

He moved as quick as he could towards the motor pool to find Chloe pushing up from behind a Jeep. "You all set there?" 

"You might want to come over here with me." She handed him a detonator. "Don't drop that," she said with smirk.

"How come you get all the fun stuff?" He almost sounded hurt. 

Chloe stuck out her bottom lip in a playful gesture. "Poor Sam. No worries, that's all yours."

His smile was toothy as he beamed with child-like delight. "Really?"

She rolled her eyes and then reached down to unzip the long bag. "Yep. Cause this one's all mine." 

Sam creased his brow and watched as Chloe bent down and then stood tall to balance a RPG on her shoulder. "No. Fucking. Way."

She turned her head to the side and hit him with a Cheshire cat gin. "Oh, yeah." She flipped the safety off and peered down the site as she aimed at the APC that sat outside the heavy gate doors in the back lot. "Once I hit this and we clear the room, just hit that button." 

Sam smiled. "Deal."  
\--

In the past few weeks, Nadine had remembered what made Joseph a good addition to Shoreline in the first place. She had pegged him as soldier on the rise, perhaps sometimes a bit too ambitious for his own good, but he appreciated strategy and he usually knew when to shut his mouth, put his head down, and do the work. It was easy to see why he had become both a favorite of Orca and even Rafe’s once they began the saga with Avery’s gold. 

Unfortunately, his youth and his pursuit of grandeur seem to do him in. Enticed. Seduced. Lured. Any of those words were a good summation of the tale Rafe (and Sam) had spun. Promises of riches and gold beyond belief had them all believing in the possibilities. Even Nadine, ever practical, ever strict, found herself wanting to believe in Rafe’s dream, if only because he had seemed to examine all the angles and he had given her free reign. And for a while, Nadine did buy in. For a while, she and Shoreline blasted their way through Scotland until that shine began to dull, and murky reality started to make her presence known. A gun to the head went a long way in helping her find clarity. As much as she hated Sam, and more so, Rafe, his frantic action was like turning on a light in darkened room just in time to see the cockroaches scurry away. 

In the end, she stayed with Rafe longer than she probably needed to, but she couldn’t deny herself the satisfaction of letting him know that she was sealing his fate. So far, of the handful of men of who had dared put their hands on her without her permission, none had lived to tell the tale. Joseph hadn’t yet tried to hit her, but the night was still young and Nadine was itching for a fight. With that in mind, Nadine scaled the southside of the Mosque and used the walkway to get closer to the West tower, knowing that had it been her she would’ve had the East tower locked down. 

In blowing the entrance to the tomb, Nadine had scattered many of his mercenaries and put a dent in his artillery. They weren’t ready for a full assault from the small but capable group of soldiers Nadine had gathered and it showed in their retreat. The double-sided game that she had been playing for the last two weeks had dissolved earlier in the necropolis. Beforehand, it was easy to disguise her movements and make excuses for delays, but if Joseph was as smart as she knew he was, he would’ve recognized the formations and the patterns. If Joseph was as smart as she figured he was, then he would be waiting and he would be ready. 

The necessary radio silence kept her solely focused on getting to the tower before Chloe’s distraction literally blew everyone’s cover. Choosing to go up and around, probably left her with more adversaries than she wanted to encounter but it did put her on the rooftop of the West tower just as the remaining APC burst into flames. The initial shock was wiped away a moment later when a succession of explosions set the entire motor pool ablaze. The detonated c-4 sent armored Jeeps high into the sky along with metal, rubber, glass, and a sizable mushroom cloud of debris and energy. And here was the point of no return: Nadine sent a shotgun blast to the wooden hatch door that separated the crow’s nest perch from the catwalk and she hopped down into the dark. 

Stealth had gone out of the window, the moment the fireball had seared the night sky, so now it was simply a matter of advantage, leverage, and knowing the lay out. She moved in a crouch using the hallway vent until she saw her exit. Or rather she saw a familiar face that she need to dispatch quickly. His name was Tolliver and he was one of the quads. They weren't really quadruplets, but in size and stature - all over 6'5" and varying between 230 and 300 pounds - they had all come from the same gene pool it seemed. Nadine had been right about Joseph. While yes, he had retreated to the Citadel to nurse his wounds, he kept himself surrounded by his most elite of mercenaries. Nadine took in the sight of Tolliver's armored helmet and thought quickly about the easiest way to take him out - there would be no mercy here - she was done with loose ends. Her only worry was that Remi's hack, which would keep them free of the real authorities for no more than 30 minutes would be enough time. 

She peered down through the grate and took aim with the Spas-12 shotgun. The armored helmet would save him from having his brains blown out, but the inevitable subdural hematoma would do him in later -if Nadine's knives didn't first. The blast of high velocity buckshot made Tolliver's head explode from the inside and he fell to his knees impaired by excruciating pain. Even if he had he been able to get his bearings, it wouldn’t have mattered, as Nadine crashed through the vent, landed squarely on his back, and simultaneously plunged both curved blades of her karambit knives into the exposed flesh of his neck. Quad number two whose name she never bothered to commit to memory, was already taking aim at her with his gun. Nadine was bending backwards and contorting her body to avoid the gun shots. She made herself skinny behind the storage crates that had been stacked in the hallway, as a deterrent to wandering staff in those first few days of commandeering the building. Nadine fired from cover, with no intention of hitting him, but just enough to slow his steps. She kicked at the barrel of his extended gun and sent another kick to his gut. On a lesser man, the body blow would've at least caused a moment's pause. Quad number two simply snarled at Nadine and caught hold of her ankle as she attempted another kick. 

"Got ya'." His gold covered canine tooth glinted in the recessed lighting of the hallway as he bared his teeth. 

"Ja, you sure do." She used his hold as a pivot point and performed a one-legged high-kick that caught him square in the side of the head with her steel-toed combat boots. 

He released her with a push as he staggered back, dropping to one knee, which put him advantageously at Nadine's eye level. She recovered quickly, bouncing on the balls of her feet with her hands already balled into fists. The ringing in his ear was enough to distort his equilibrium, giving Nadine a momentary advantage which she didn't dare miss. The 1-2 right jab, left hook combination she sent towards his face didn't miss either. The jab to his ear further exacerbated his disorientation, followed by the hook that left the mark of her knuckles on his jaw. She pressed her advantage with an intent to perforate his ear drum, sending a pair of high knee strikes to his damaged right ear. The first made him woozy, but he blocked the second with an open palm that pushed away her knee and left her torso wide open. Nadine sucked in a breath for the blows she knew were coming. Quad two may have been slow with the gun, but he might as well have been practicing on the speed bag with his flurry of punches. 

Nadine's tac-vest absorbed the brunt of the punch to her ribs, but the left to her jaw nearly spun her around and she could already taste the blood before he caught her in the chest with another punch. She sighted the fist headed for her jaw once more and she used both forearms to block the hit. Before he had chance to regroup, Nadine was already sending a swift kick to his exposed ribs. He merely shoved her away before she could get in another kick and he used the break to get to his feet. At 6'5" he was the biggest of the quads, towering over Nadine by an entire foot. 

Nadine just smirked as she bounced on her toes like a boxer and readied her hands. He grinned, but it was not in a condescending manner. While true, his height advantage was obvious, he wasn't completely oblivious to what Nadine was capable of. Granted he had never been a part of her Shoreline, but he had heard stories. Given the sight of Tolliver's dead body, it was tangible proof of her legend. He mirrored her stance and watched her with caution. He had orders to bring her back alive, and it was clear she was beholden to no one. 

"We could make this easier, you know." His American accent fit his close-cropped blond hair. He only got a smile in response. "Is this where you make one of those bigger they come, harder they fall jokes?" He watched as brown eyes moved from head to toe.

"Actually, no." Nadine kept her eyes focused in the middle of his torso, allowing her a clear view of his entire body. His reach was the stuff of nightmares, meaning she couldn't attempt to outright get into a boxing match with him; however, it did leave her with only one real recourse. She scrunched her brow in thought and said flatly, "balls." 

Quad number two knew not to take his eyes off the smaller woman, but her word did perplex him. His brow creased in confusion and as he repeated the word back to her, he let his shoulders drop, loosening his stance. At 6'5", standing in an at-the-ready boxing stance, left what might as well have been a two-lane highway between his legs. 

Nadine lunged forward and slid on her knees between his open legs, sending an uppercut to the sensitive appendages between his legs. She knew her wore a cup, it was standard procedure at this point, but the force of her punch was still enough to create an uncomfortable jolt of pain. He hissed and stumbled forward a bit, clutching himself. Snatching her all but forgotten shotgun from her back, Nadine hopped onto his back and looped the strap around his neck. As expected, he stuck his hand in between the strap and his throat. Nadine squeezed her thighs tight as he tried to dislodge her and simply began to pull on the shotgun. When his hand was smashed against his Adam’s apple, the large man reached back and managed to grab a piece of Nadine's shirt. He gripped the material hard and pulled forward with all the strength he had. Nadine relaxed into the toss and as she landed hard on her back she kept both hands gripped on the shotgun, at the handle and the barrel. She twisted and pulled, forcing the larger man to the floor, hand still caught against his throat and pressing against his windpipe. With a quick spin and roll to her knees, Nadine was upright and driving both knees into his upper shoulders, all the while still she twisted the strap of the shotgun, creating and ever-shrinking vice. He flailed his free hand back and Nadine stood up only to drive her booted foot down onto his hand and wrist. At the sound of a snap, she again drove both knees into his back, pulled on the strap, and leaned back. She waited a whole minute after his body was limp to perform one last quick tug on the makeshift garrote. 

Nadine finally let the shotgun fall out of her hands and stood, straddling the limp body of quad number two. The former captain allowed herself a tiny respite, taking a breath and then spitting the blood from her split lip on the floor. She leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees and opened and closed her mouth, making sure her jaw wasn't broken, despite the throbbing. She was reaching for the shotgun when she heard sharp footfalls on the tiled floor of the hallway. Nadine sighed and with hands on her knees, she glanced up towards the end of the hallway. She nodded to herself and finally stood up straight. As she locked eyes with what she knew were her twin adversaries, positioned one in front of the other, so that they appeared to be one, she managed a very thin smile. It was less a smile of hubris and more a sardonic assessment of the gauntlet she had willingly entered. So far, nothing had surprised her, and even if it did, the past four months with Chloe had reminded her of the importance of saying: adapt or die. 

Twenty yards from where Nadine still stood over the body of the felled man, the half-Japanese, half-Black siblings, waited with their signature machetes unsheathed and at the ready. In another life, she would've recruited them and tried to perhaps teach the undisciplined pair the benefits of routine and regimen. Yes, they were talented, but they were also cocky, raw, and extremely lethal, sometimes too lethal. 

Over the past three weeks, of all the characters that she had bothered to take a moment to know or learn, it was these two. Culturally, they clearly had a few obvious things in common, the least of which was how to deal with a staggering amount of curly hair in the hot desert wind of North Africa. They were wide-eyed and chaotic and yet, strangely loyal to those who fueled their penchant for fun. Upon meeting them, she had correctly surmised that it was the siblings' unpredictability that made them dangerous, and while the pair had a formidable reputation that preceded them, Nadine was wise enough to know that it was that hunger for anarchy and doing something stupid that was going to get them both killed. As Aiko stepped out from behind their sister and smirked, Nadine knew that she was going to be playing the role of something stupid. 

She acknowledged them both with a causally intoned, "kids", as it had become a respectful greeting that never made the twins bristle. Her first observation of the pair -in small Venetian dive bar along the canal - was a display of their sheer brutality, wherein she watched them react to being catcalled and called 'ladies' by an oblivious drunk. The one-sided skirmish was over before it began, but in those vicious few minutes, she saw their missteps and the patterns that were clearly hardwired into their DNA. 

"Are we really going to do this?" Nadine was resigned to her decision, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give them an out. 

"Ma'am." It was Aiko who answered first with a twirl of the machete. It was easy to tell them apart, as Alexis wore her hair in a low ponytail much like Nadine and Aiko's hair was always loose and perfectly fluffy, like they were a stand-in for a 70's disco queen. 

" _Junbi_?" Alexis' Parisian accent on the Japanese word made the question come out like a statement of fact.

Indeeed, Nadine was ready. She stretched her neck and reached behind her to unsheathe the kukri she kept at her back. "You do know this only ends one way, right?"

Alexis pulled her machete free from her hip holster and twirled it for show. "Just like we like it."

Nadine shook her head and set her feet. Unlike her gun hand, she tended to carry her knives and blades in her right hand, that way when she switched to her left it made for an unexpected surprise. She knew the twins would be aware, but she was unphased by what they knew about her and more focused about what she understood about the seemingly symbiotic siblings. With the large blade in her right hand, she made a quick 'come here' gesture with the fingers of her empty left hand, and then she took the first step forward. 

Like a good fencer, Alexis who stood in front of Aiko, lunged forward and extended her machete towards Nadine's blade. The subsequent force of metal crashing together went unnoticed by them both. They traded two more quick slashes and then Nadine leaned away and parried across her body to not only block Alexis' low swing, but to counter what she knew was coming. Aiko was the counter point to Alexis' focal point. Her speed and flourish was used to keep opponents occupied while Aiko used the first opening to exact a powerful strike. Nadine parried low, which made Aiko change the trajectory of the swing. The change in footwork allowed Nadine to step to the side and send a stinging high side kick to Aiko's face. The spray of blood was evidence of a broken nose. 

As expected, the break in formation made Alexis attack with more emotion than necessary. It was easy for Nadine to meet her strikes until Aiko joined the fray. Nadine put every reflex she had to the test as she exchanged strikes and parries with the pair. For a moment, the hallway was filled with the sound of metal against metal, replete with a few sparks to attest to force and fury. Aiko broke formation first and struck out towards Nadine's left side, prompting her to side step in an attempt to avoid the strike. Aiko's blade just missed her face, but the tip of Alexis' machete slice into her deltoid. She spun out to lessen the damage and readied herself for the onslaught. When the twins smelled blood, they got erratic. 

Nadine tossed her weapon to her left hand just as Alexis charged her. Brown eyes stayed fixed on Aiko who hung back as Nadine waited until the last possible moment to move. This was the discipline that she wished she could have a chance to impart to the two mercenaries, but such was the job, and it was what they signed on for: kill or be killed. Nadine's first step looked as if she was going to meet the other woman in the middle. Instead, she planted her right foot and pushed off in the direction of the wall. The quick move made Alexis stutter-step, so she was off balance when Nadine used the wall as a runway and a launchpad. Alexis dove forward, narrowly avoiding being decapitated but still caught the brunt of the curved blade in the meat of her shoulder and upper back. She fell forward into an awkward roll as she clutched at the bleeding wound. 

With a guttural yell, Aiko slashed wildly towards Nadine. The swings were wide and frantic, as well as easily avoidable. She jumped back, evading a deep swing at her gut, and then gripped the handle of her large knife with both hands and swung up, meeting Aiko's incoming overhand strike. Sheer force of will loosened the machete from Aiko's hand, sending the blade clanking to the floor. Aiko's shock was compounded by Nadine's front kick to the chest followed by a drop kick to the face. The consecutive blows sent a dazed Aiko crashing into the wall. 

A slightly hampered Alexis got to her feet, keeping her left hand clutching the deep gash-it was nearly to the bone- on her opposite shoulder while she kept hold of the machete in her right hand. Her range of motion was less than half and they both knew it. If Chloe were here, she'd have a snarky quip or a teasing remark to add to the tension, but instead Nadine only spun the kukri in her palm before meeting the other woman's weak slash. Nadine's upswing dislodged the weapon once more and on her downswing, there was only one path to take -- the fat round upper edge of blade dug into her jugular and cut clear across her neck. Nadine let the momentum of her swing twist her towards the other side of the hallway, and as she steadied herself against the wall, she reacted to the sight of a bloodied Aiko standing up, with a flick of her wrist. In the blink of an eye, nearly two inches of the kukri blade sank deep into Aiko's chest. Nadine let out relieved breath once they finally slumped over and she moved towards the body to retrieve her weapon. There would be no gloating here. "What a waste." She grumbled the words under breath as she reached for the hilt, only to halt her movement at the clear sound of a shotgun shell being chambered.  
\---

As Nadine endured her own test of trials, Chloe and Sam found themselves in the terribly familiar position of being shot at by machine gun wielding soldiers. Huddled next to Chloe behind a small stone building used for taking entry tickets, Sam couldn't help but chuckle as gunfire rained down on them from the other side. "Guess they are not too happy about you blowing up the tank, huh?"

Chloe shrugged and fired her gun wildly from cover. "It's only fair to even the odds, in my opinion." 

"What are the odds that we may get a little help from Nadine's friends?"

"Something tells me they have their hands full as well." Chloe leaned out and fired with a bit more precision, hitting a Shoreline merc in the knee. Return fire pelted the wall near her head sending a pebble skittering across her forehead. She winced and then crouched a bit more. "Alright, I'm about through with these tossers." She roughly exchanged an empty cartridge for a full one, slamming the clip home and pulling the slide to chamber a round. "Look, you go left I'll head right. There are four of them left. We just need to push through to the tower and whomever else is left, is still on the south side with Nadine’s guys." She glanced down at the duffel bags by Sam's side. "You need help with those?"

Sam glanced at the two 25 pound black bags and then back to Chloe. At no second did he think about playing He-man, as he quickly replied, "Please, God, yes."

Chloe stood up and pulled the strap over her head, securing across her body. "Jesus! What's in here, gold bricks?!"

Sam's smile was wide. "I sure as hell hope so." He shouldered the bag and then checked the magazine on his rifle. "Ready?"

Chloe just nodded. "Meet you at the tower." 

The pair peeled off in opposite directions around the small stone building and began firing as they moved across the space towards the tower. Chloe dropped the closest Shoreline agent to her right with only two shots and she grinned triumphantly. Nadine would be proud of her grouping. Her victory was short lived as she glimpsed the large barrel of grenade gun. Chloe abandoned her firing and dove towards the first cover she could find, as the concrete shook with the small explosion. 

Sam seemed to fare slightly better to the left side as he took advantage of empty clips and pinned two Shoreline soldiers behind the low wall of the visitor center. A grenade blast too close for comfort sent him running into a hulk of a man covered in head-to-toe Kevlar. He sent a rapid round of fire towards the armored man, in the hopes of slowing him down, but it only hastened his advanced. Sam was punching out his empty clip just as the volts of electricity coursed through his body. The leads from the stun gun stretched across the space and Sam could only involuntarily convulse. 

The armored soldier depressed the trigger as a bullet slammed into his helmet. It didn't penetrate the reinforced helmet but the sensation caused him to knock off the helmet exposing his skull. Chloe took aim and froze as a cattle prod to the base of her spine sent out spirals of pain up her back. She dropped to her knees and doubled over in pain, fighting to remain conscious. She was groggy and her brain was fuzzy, but she kept her eyes open even as her body still convulsed against the pain, while she was being slung over the shoulder of the larger armored man. He then grabbed Sam by the scruff of his neck, and proceeded to bring them both towards East tower.  
\--

Nadine's last coherent thought had been registering the sound of a shotgun being pumped and ready to fire. Her first instinct was to dive down and forward in a miraculous bid to avoid the gun fire, but the spray of the buckshot did its job and caught her in the back. Her tac-vest on the other hand, also did its job. Assuming she lived to see the morning, she knew she would have a nasty bruise and maybe a vertebra or two out of alignment, but she would not have a hole in her lung. Instead, the force of the blast knocked the wind out of her and left her face down on the tiled hallway floor. Her attempt to swat at the large hands grabbing her by the vest was futile, but at least should could still move her arms. The final quad, Clay if she remembered correctly, lifted her off the ground and tossed her forward like a toddler discarding a stuffed animal. Her sore jaw hit floor first and it only intensified the painful pulsing. Nadine fought to get her bearings as breath finally filled her lungs again, but before she knew it, she was being lifted high into the air with Clay's hands around her throat, and then she was sailing through the air before hitting the wooden door that led to the makeshift office. The door cracked and wood splinters exploded inward as Nadine was tossed through the door and landed hard on the stone floor of the circular room. 

Nadine drew in a deep breath as she rolled over onto her knees and sat up slowly. Her back ached, her jaw was throbbing, and the blood running down her arm was becoming a nuisance, but she refused to acknowledge any sign of pain. In fact, she calmly sat back on her knees, rested her hands on her thighs, and finally opened her eyes. Including Clay, looming behind her, there were only the three of them of them in the room. She could work with that. This time when she smiled, she meant it for the cocksure display that it was. Maybe, Chloe was rubbing off on her. 

She kept sure brown eyes focused on the man perched on the desk, still clearly disheveled from the earlier skirmish at the dig sight: blood still fresh on his clothes and his left arm, shredded by shrapnel, in a sling. She gathered the blood and saliva in her mouth and spit, mostly for effect. "Joseph."

The man in question didn't bother to move from where he sat, happy to peer down at the smug woman in front of him. His eyes moved up and to the left as he subtly signaled to Clay and then he focused once more on Nadine. He met her brown eyes with his own as the top right corner of his mouth twitched up in an edge of a smile. "Good to see you again, ma'am."

Nadine only lifted her chin in answer. They both knew there was nothing sincere about a word he said.

 

_TBC in Part II..._


	11. Showdown at the House of Sand and Fog (Part II)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Previously..._   
>  _"Nadine drew in a deep breath as she rolled over onto her knees and sat up slowly. Her back ached, her jaw was throbbing, and blood running down her arm was becoming a nuisance, but she refused to acknowledge any sign of pain._
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> **It's time to tie up loose ends.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hope the wait wasn't too long! :D  
> **I tried to keep it under 3 buckets of blood.

Upon commandeering the circular room at the top of the east tower that was normally used for storage, Joseph had created himself a makeshift office, replete will a wide wooden desk that looked as if belonged in the office of an erudite University Dean. There were maps and photos spread out, matching the ones taped to the far wall, a compass, and even a protractor. It looked like the work space of a relic hunter, or at least the desk of somewhere living out their childhood adventure fantasies. As Nadine observed Joseph, she could see that he was only now just beginning to understand how far astray she had led him. The incomplete maps, the delays, the broken translations. She had always kept him one or two steps behind, and now as he looked down at her, still kneeling on the stone floor, he felt like he was one step ahead for the first time in weeks.

"I should like to congratulate you for all the hard work." Nadine only blinked in response, not bothering to waste her breath just yet. "But for as shitty as Kincaid is, he does have his moments." Joseph rolled his eyes as he referred to the less than stellar Professor that he'd hired to help in his search for the tomb. "Although, had I known that all we had to do was follow your friends, then I would've saved myself the trouble." He finally stood up from where he sat on the table, but he made no move towards Nadine. "Where are Ms. Frazer and Mr. Drake, by the way? I can't imagine you've come all this way and not stopped to say hello." 

Nadine only shrugged a shoulder and kept her palms flat against her thighs, where underneath her left hand rested the flat punch knife that she had concealed after rolling to her knees. "Is there a point to your rambling?"

He snorted. "I always did appreciate how no-nonsense you were about everything. I'll keep it plain: I want the book."

Nadine made it a point to groan aloud as she moved her hands to rest on her hips. Her hands were balled into fists, adding to her annoyed demeanor. "Is the money and the company not enough? Really?"

He wagged a finger at her. "You forget the tomb." Nadine just flared her nostrils. "That's the best part."

"All the more reason you don't need it." She arched her eyebrow just a touch in the first real show of any emotion. 

Joseph huffed out a laugh. "Then I guess we need to negotiate some more?" Either the distortion of his face made it impossible, or he just didn't care enough to be subtle, but his attempt to gesture towards Clay with his eyes was more than obvious. 

Clay stepped forward towards Nadine, perhaps ready to scoop her from the floor or put her in a choke hold, but his fingertips never made it to their destination. The moment his foot came into view, Nadine swung her left hand back and drove the punch knife into the most accessible expanse of flesh - in Clay's case, the space right about his kneecap made a nice home for the small sharp blade. She drove the knife deep and twisted just before she leaped to her feet and charged at the now wide-eyed Joseph. She drove her shoulder into his damaged arm and they careered off the desk and onto the floor. Recovering, quickly she sprang to her feet and sent a booted foot to Joseph's face and his gut, before dodging Clay's incoming fist.

Nadine spun away from his second punch, caught him by the wrist, and used his own momentum to toss him to the floor and ram his forehead into the stone. Joseph was on his feet now and tearing at his sling, as he lunged at Nadine. She simply grabbed him by his bloodied shoulder and dug her fingers into the wounds, pressing shrapnel deeper into his flesh. He shrieked in response and kneed her in the side, causing her to release her grip and jump back. She could see Clay starting to move again in her periphery and admittedly, he was more of a physical threat than the man in front of her. The momentary distraction allowed Joseph to get in a sucker punch across her cheek. She could feel the emblem from the ring her wore dig into her flesh. Nadine staggered back but stayed upright as they traded punches. She blocked his left hook and sent an elbow into the side of his face, that forced a loose tooth to skitter across the floor. Joseph winced and touched a hand to his face giving Nadine space to regroup. The sight of Clay getting to his feet made her decision easy. She snatched her karambit from her belt and swiped at Joseph's belly before he could completely avoid her strike. While she didn't hit her original target, the curved blade sliced through his side in a crescent shape curving up towards his arm pit. She pulled the blade out with a twist and smashed the side of his knee with her boot. 

Clay's heavy breaths announced his presence and Nadine relaxed her limbs as she took the brunt of his shoulder in her sternum Her feet left the ground and she steeled herself for what came only a second later, namely the sound and feel of the wooden desk cracking to pieces as Clay slammed her down and through the table. Between the wood and the stone bouncing against her head and back, Nadine was sure she was possibly on her way to being concussed, and there was no way she didn't have broken rib. Both she and Clay lay still for a few breaths, each doing a mental inventory of what they thought was broken, bleeding, and definitely sprained. 

At the moment of impact, the door to the stairwell opened energetically and in walked quad number four, with a groggy Chloe on his shoulder and Sam in a loose headlock. He came fully into the room and deposited Chloe none too gently onto the floor, along with Sam, whom he shoved in her general direction. An awkward silence filled the room as it took a few moments for each person to assess what had transpired. The large wooden desk had been reduced to two splintered and broken halves. Large slats of wood lay like flotsam in a sea of cracked and broken lumber. 

Chloe watched the large man roll to his knees and she felt air fill her lungs, as she spotted a bloody but breathing Nadine. "Nadine!" she shouted and took a step towards the woman, but a warning zap of the cattle prod made her stand still. She held her hands up and sneered. A still groggy Sam stood up straight at Chloe's shout and he smiled.

Joseph narrowed his eye at the pair and hobbled towards the taller man. He snapped his fingers. “Give me a gun and don't let those two move."

The armored brute handed over his gun with a nod and sent a kick to Sam's groin, sending him straight to ground in a whimpering heap. 

He shoved the gun in the waistband of his trousers and continued to try deal with the deep cut on his side. "Clay, bring her over here."

"You're a real fucking asshole, you know that." Chloe groused in the big brute's direction before kneeling next to a near catatonic Sam. She patted Sam's back gently and looked over in the direction of the wreckage. "Any day this week, Nadine," she mumbled under her breath. 

Clay took his time getting to his feet, seemingly just as woozy as Nadine. Taking a moment to mentally account for the ability to move all of her limbs, Nadine used precious seconds not to scramble to her feet, but instead to roll over onto her stomach. She made a show of groaning and even let go of a pained, "fuck", just for good measure. She could feel Clay moving around her, so, she stayed patient. Finally, a heavy hand on her shoulder brought Clay close enough. Instead of slowly rolling over as Clay expected, Nadine's movements were quick, and in the end, maybe a little merciful. Her cut across his throat was silent and swift and as deep as it was long. Clay's eyes blinked rapidly as he realized that the spray of blood across Nadine's chin and neck was his own. In shock, the taller man stood up straight and clutched at his neck. He took a few uncoordinated steps before he dropped to his knees and eventually slumped over. 

A woozy Nadine finally sat up amidst the broken wood and blood splatter, her legs spread in a vee, bloody hands resting between her legs, and her head slowly turning as she surveyed the room. Behind her lay Clay in a widening pool of blood and in front and near the right wall by the other door, Joseph stood mostly on one leg, using his discarded sling to stem the floor of blood from his side. Chloe and Sam were to her left, and the last of the remaining quads, stood in the open door and watched Clay collapse. The went still in the silence.

Her movements were slow, but powered by the sight of both Chloe and Sam, Nadine got to her feet. She spared a quick glance towards a grinning Chloe, before meeting the large man's eyes. At the moment, all she knew was that his name started with an R, and she could actually see rage clouding his eyes. While she knew Joseph wouldn't shoot her, she couldn't say the same for the man she now currently locked eyes with. Like his counterparts, he was a mountain of a man at 6'4" and he looked as though he ate a carton of raw eggs and a fresh liver smoothie every morning before completing some Herculean-like exercise routine. What she wouldn't have given for a gun or an act of God. With the prospect of neither on the horizon, Nadine knew that she was going to have to do something drastic to get out of this one. 

Her priority was to step out of what remained of the desk and get to some open space. She moved to her left and the big man mirrored her movements. He clenched and unclenched his fists as he moved once more, following her as she moved left again, making a bit of a half circle and coming very close to the window. His pupils dilated with excitement. "Sir?" He didn't bother to take his eyes off Nadine. 

Joseph sighed as finally wrangled the make shift tourniquet across his wound. "Just try not to kill her instantly please. I still need that brain."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Joseph and began to look around for a way to help. Joseph's bruiser had already given one of his guns away and the other was still in his side holster, so she had no hope to reach for it, as she watched the man follow Nadine around the curve of the room. In her spot by the door, she dropped her jaw when she realized what Nadine was about to do. Her instinct was to call out, but she also knew that she had to trust Nadine and believe that she was always prepared. She experienced an ephiphanous frisson of thought when she realized that this was indeed the mix of dread and wonder that often made Nadine's stomach churn as she watched Chloe act on impulse or change her mind mid-sentence. Chloe swallowed down the fear in her throat and kept her eyes trained on Nadine as she neared the window. 

The sizzle of the cattle prod cracked the air as he advanced on the smaller woman. Nadine was quick with the kick, knocking the weapon to the floor, however, he then gripped her ankle with a free hand and trapped her leg against his side. A meaty hand wrapped around her throat and he lifted the former Shoreline captain high into the air and stepped towards the open window. Nadine held tight to the hand at her throat and thrashed in an attempt to wiggle out of his hold. The big brute smiled like he had won the biggest teddy bear at the carnival and squeezed his prize. His thighs smashed against the window ledge and he made to thrust Nadine out of the window, only realizing a second too late, that she was lifting her legs to wrap vice-like thighs around his head. Nadine was already falling out of the window and he was going with her. His fingers dragged and scratched along the edge of the window frame as both bodies disappeared on the other side. 

Chloe jumped up and let go of a frantic yelp. Her heart pounded erratically against her chest as she kept her eyes locked on the window. When there was no immediate recovery, worry started to seep into her thoughts and she covered her mouth with both hands while she stepped in the direction of the window. Joseph sent a single warning shot close her foot. "Just stay there." He nodded towards Sam, who was just now rolling over. “Both of you.” 

Sam was on all fours and taking in deep gulps of air, waiting for the explosion of pain in his groin to subside. Chloe began to move back towards him, but a cocked gun stopped her. She needed Sam's help if they were going to figure out how to get to Nadine, who Chloe now feared lay at the base of the stone tower in need of medical attention. Joseph’s voice snapped her back into the moment. 

“He’ll live. Well, at least for now.” Joseph waved his gun at Chloe and gestured for her to stay standing. 

Chloe held her hands up in a position of surrender and grimaced at the man’s bloodied face and mangled arm. “You sure you don’t want to take a stop and put some ice on all of that.” She made a circle with her right hand and mimed wiping his face.

Joseph spit a loose tooth and blood on the floor and snarled. “Please, shut up.” He looked over at Sam. “Up with ya’ Drake. Thanks again for getting those bags for me.”

Sam chuckled as the feeling returned to his legs. He stood on wobbly legs, but stayed bent over for a moment, resting his hands on his knees. “Yep. That’s me. Everybody’s bag boy.” 

“Lovely. Cause we’re all about to walk out of here. Even you, Ms. Frazer.”

“Thanks for thinking of me Joe, can’t say it’s appreciated.” Maybe if she could keep him talking for a few minutes more she could find a way to overpower him, now that Sam was at least back on his feet. She liked the odds of two against one, even with a gun. 

Joseph rolled his eyes and prepared to retort, when his attention, along with Chloe and Sam’s, was drawn to the open window. 

A guttural groan was accompanied by the sight of two hands on the window. Chloe didn’t bother to hide her smile and Sam could only smirk. With another pull, Nadine was pushing through the open window and tumbling to her knees. Blood was smeared across her forehead and cheek from two cuts sustained from crashing against the stone tower. She kept her right arm bent at the elbow and tucked against her side to compensate for the near dislocation. Nadine rose up on one knee and pointed her newly acquired gun at Joseph. 

“Still want to negotiate?” She met his eyes. 

Joseph fumed and turned his gun on Nadine, only to growl in frustration, realizing that if she was dead he would never get his book. “Fuck you, Nadine!”

Nadine allowed herself a smirk and got to her feet. “So, let’s try this again.”

“Damn it!” He stomped his foot like a toddler mid-tantrum unsure of what he wanted to do next. 

Nadine let her eyes cut towards Sam and Chloe to her left. “You two okay?”

“Us!” Chloe wanted to run towards Nadine, but it was clear they weren’t quite out of the woods yet. “Look at you! Are you okay?”

She shrugged her bad shoulder lightly. “Eh, I’ve had worse.”

Chloe winked at her. “Guess all those push-ups paid off.”

Sam finally stood up straight. “What’s the plan here, Nadine?” His eyes bounced between Chloe and Nadine and a clearly unraveling Joseph, who tapped the barrel of the gun against his forehead rapidly. 

“The plan Drake, is that I get what I came for and then bury all you fucks in the desert!” Joseph gnashed his teeth and shook the gun in his direction.

“Now, now, Joseph. I thought we were negotiating.” Chloe’s words got a sneer out of him and changed his darting focus. 

“So, what’s it going to be Joseph?” Nadine aimed her gun in his direction and it got him to redirect his attention once more. “Are you going to take my offer or are we all going to die out here in the desert?”

“What!?” Sam choked out. “Nadine, we need to discuss your negotiating technique.”

Nadine ignored him and kept her eyes on Joseph. “The company’s yours Joseph. I’ll even give you the money. Just let us walk out of here with our find and we’re done.”

Laughter filled the room. Joseph rubbed the back of his hand through the blood on his lip and his laugh tipped into a teetering giggle. His gun hung loosely in his fingers before he suddenly recognized his carelessness. He cleared his throat, gathering himself and regripped his gun before pointing it firmly at Nadine. 

Nadine squinted against the pain in her right eye, while she sized up the trajectory she would need to make a kill shot. In such close proximity, the odds of her not getting shot were very low. If she was lucky, they could make it to the hospital in time before she bled out, assuming he didn’t hit her in the head. It wasn’t quite the most honorable death that she had always assumed she would succumb to, but in the end, she knew her actions would keep Chloe alive and safe – and that she could live with. “So, what’s it going to be?”

Joseph only grumbled and kept his gun trained on Nadine. He took a small breath, as if he made a discovery and then swung the weapon towards Chloe and Sam. Nadine kept her hand steady and her jaw tight, but she didn’t flinch, despite the fact that Chloe and Sam were now in more immediate danger. Instead, she kept her voice flat and her eyes on Joseph as she questioned him again. “What’s your answer? Let us walk, and the money’s yours.” 

Whether rattled by pain or lack of discipline, Joseph’s eyes moved from Chloe and Sam back to Nadine. His gun shook as he talked. “I’m not sure I really like your options, ma’am.” He chuckled awkwardly and Nadine could see it was probably a response to the blood running down his side from where she had cut him earlier. Lucidity showed up in the form of the steadying breath he took and his arm stilled, as he lowered his weapon just a touch. He met Nadine's eyes with his half-dead stare and spoke clearly. "Here’s my offer: I only kill one of your friends here, you give me the rest of the company, and I take everything. The book. The find. The money. I figure it’s what you owe me. And then, sure, I’ll let you walk.” He lifted his gun and pointed it first at Sam and then at Chloe. His eyes never left Chloe’s when he spoke again. “So, what do you say?” 

Outwardly, Nadine remained stoic and her facial expression blank. Inwardly, she was boiling over with anger and fear. Angry at herself and fearful that she had missed her opening. And all she really need was a moment, just an infinitesimal distraction to give her the time she needed to pull the trigger. She’d sacrifice herself, if she had to, if it meant Chloe and Sam could walk out of the mess that she had created. 

She blocked out the other sounds in the room, concentrating solely on Joseph. Despite the throbbing pain in both her shoulders, Nadine kept her gun held high and her arm steady, even as she took a quick glance at Chloe and Sam to her left. Brown eyes cut back to Joseph, where his tragic half-smile made it clear that he could that she was tired, he could see that she was exhausted, and he could see that she was contemplating his offer. 

Blood from the reopened gash over her eyebrow ran in a thin line down her cheek, a tangible reminder of India, of Chloe. More importantly, it was a reminder of the new life that she so wanted to hold on to, if she could. To her left, braced and at the ready, was the very real reminder of that new life - Sam included. While to her right, stood another man who once again, threatened to take what she loved from her. After Rafe, she had vowed that she wouldn't ever be in this position again, made to feel expendable or made to choose. In the years before, she would've walked away without a second thought, but now too much was at stake; namely, her heart. Nadine took a deep breath and exhaled. She kept her eyes fixed on Joseph as he raised his gun in a much firmer gesture. He was daring her to call his bluff, and he could all but feel the weariness in Nadine. 

And truthfully, she was spent and weary and exhausted. And she was literally over it: Shoreline, Joseph, and this life that once was. "Okay, you got it." She could hear Chloe's shout of protest, but she never took her eyes off Joseph as his arm lowered just an inch. Without moving her eyes, Nadine quietly said, "Sorry, Sam." And before he could even protest, her arm moved two inches to the left and in the blink of an eye, she shot him clean through the shoulder. 

The unexpected gun shot, mixed with Sam's mewl of pain, and Chloe's gasp was just enough surprise to make Joseph flinch, and when he did, Nadine did not miss the opening. Two bullets slammed into his chest and sent him sprawling onto his back. Briefly, the only sounds in the tower were Sam's muffled groans and the sucking chest wound that had Joseph gurgling and spitting up blood. 

Chloe knelt at Sam's side and helped him sit up, while Nadine walked towards the bleeding man. Joseph gasped for breath and twisted the features of his disfigured face in an illustration of excruciating pain. Nadine stood over him and watched as recognition filtered into his eyes. "See, I kept my promise, Joseph." He just blinked, the pain too great for anything else. "I'm going to be the last thing you see." She pulled the trigger just once more. 

Nadine holstered her gun and expelled a breath, letting her head loll back. Her brief reprieve was broken by Sam's angry whine. "Nadine!" She turned her head to see Chloe helping Sam to his feet while trying to wrap ripped shirt material around his bleeding shoulder. 

"Sam, if you would just stop moving I could wrap the damn thing." She fussed at him as he snatched the shirt and pressed it hard against his shoulder. 

His eyes were ablaze as he looked at Nadine. "You fucking shot me! What the hell, Nadine!"

Chloe covered her mouth with her hand to curtail her smile at Sam's tantrum. She tried to placate him. "It's a flesh wound, Sam."

He now glared at Chloe. "Flesh my wound, my ass! Unbelievable!" He stomped towards the stairwell. "You know what, Ross," he stopped and pointed at Nadine, who remained standing where she was, her face passive. "You and I are even now. You got that. And you can carry your own damn duffel bags." He picked up his steps and headed down the stairs. 

The two women just waited for a beat as they listened to Sam's muttering echo in the stairwell as he headed out of the tower. Nadine finally relaxed her shoulders and put her face in her hands. She remained that way, just breathing into her hands until Chloe came to stand in front of her. Long fingers curled gently around her wrists and Chloe coaxed Nadine's hands away from her face. "Hi there, love." Her words came out on a soft breath and she ducked her head a bit, waiting for Nadine to finally look up and meet her eyes. “You scared the piss out of me,” she added softly.

Nadine leaned forward and let her forehead rest against Chloe's collarbone. "Hi," she finally squeaked out. She lifted her head as she felt a gentle finger on her chin, careful of the bruise forming there. Chloe's soft gray eyes were waiting for her and Nadine did not resist the want to smile, despite the split in her top lip and the ache in her jaw.

Chloe took out an unused piece of the ripped t-shirt and dabbed at the reopened gash over Nadine’s eyebrow before pushing sweaty curls back from her forehead. Her right eye was probably going to be black in the morning and blood ran from both her nose and her lip. “You’re a bit of a mess.” Chloe’s words were as gentle as her ministrations, as she cleaned the blood away from Nadine’s face. Satisfied that she had cleaned the worst of it away, Chloe lifted her hand, ready to touch her fingers to the bruise across Nadine's cheek when a watch beeped. 

Nadine expelled a puff of air and stepped back, creating space between them. "We need to head out of here soon before the actual military gets here. Can you grab the other bag for me?" She rubbed her shoulder which was going to need an ice bath as soon as possible. 

Chloe nodded as she moved to get the bags that had been dropped by the door. "What the hell is in these things anyway?"

"You might as well see for yourself." Nadine tossed a small set of keys at Chloe.

With an eyebrow arched to the sky, she caught the keys and knelt to open the bag. "Holy shit." Her voice was filled with muted wonder as she took in the sight of the large stack of bearer bonds. Gray eyes flitted from the bag to Nadine and back to the bag. She opened the bag wider and just shook her head. "Holy Christ, Nadine is this in both bags?"

Wearing a small grin, Nadine just nodded as she shouldered the other bag with a slight grimace. 

"Is this his?" She nodded towards Joseph's body.

"Oh, no," Nadine replied with a shake of her head. "That’s all mine." She gave a half-grin. “Compliments of my dad, actually.”

Chloe could only mouth a ‘wow’ as she zipped the bag up and finally stood. A wide smile broke across her face as she eyed Nadine. "You've got a lot of explaining to do." She was all smiles while picking up the bag.

Nadine nodded in agreement. "I know I do, and I promise I will tell you the whole thing. But later. We should get to the site."

Chloe wanted to press her partner, but now was not the time as they both headed for the stairs. 

The sounds of oncoming sirens filled the air as they made their way towards the waiting vehicles. "Are you with us Sam?" Chloe called out to Sam as he sat on the bumper of a Humvee with his shoulder freshly wrapped. Instead of answering, he just stuck up his middle finger and then stomped off to get into a different vehicle. Chloe shook her head laughed to herself.

"He's going to bitch forever isn't he?" Nadine's voice emanated from behind her. Chloe turned to find Nadine leaning against the back of a Jeep, her shoulder braced against the full spare tire and her legs crossed at the ankles. She had tossed the duffel bags on the back seat and began to dig her thumb into the firm flesh of her palm to ease out the small cramp that had formed. Brown eyes were absently focused on the shuffle of men packing up the vehicles, while she continued to massage her hand.

Chloe's lopsided grin made an appearance as she walked towards Nadine and reached out for her hand. She stopped her massage and let Chloe take over. They stood together in silence for a few quiet moments as Chloe smoothed her thumbs across Nadine's palm, pressing into the pressure points. Eventually, she turned her hand over and ran her finger lightly over the new scrapes and bruises. Chloe lifted Nadine's hand and pressed a soft kiss to the bruised flesh. She felt more than she saw, the tremble that ran up Nadine's spine. Chloe lifted her head and waited for Nadine to open her eyes. They breathed together and Chloe kept Nadine's hand in her own. "You cool?" 

Nadine nodded and then let the start of a grin lift the corner of her mouth. "I'm cool," she finally breathed out. There was a lot more to say, but for now, Nadine was content with the feel of Chloe's hand in her own and the memory of her lips on her skin. She squeezed Chloe's hand firmly and repeated her words. "Ja. I'm cool."

Chloe smiled fully as she released Nadine's hand. "We should probably get out of her before Sam starts soliciting blood transfusions.

Nadine let loose a snort of laughter and rolled her eyes. "Big baby," she muttered to Chloe's delight. 

She looped her arm through Nadine's and swept sweaty black bangs off her forehead. "Let's get out of here." 

Bruised and battered, but alive, they all piled into the three vehicles, along with Nadine's team, and sped out of the back entrance, past the still flaming APC and headed off-road and to the south. With the wail of sirens in the distance, and the picturesque rise of the pyramids ahead of her, Nadine squeezed Chloe's hand that still rested in her own. And then, for the first time in three weeks, she smiled a real, full smile.

_To Be Concluded..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a beast of a chapter, but I clearly was having too much fun beating people up. Thanks for letting me indulge my action fantasies! I can't tell you how awesome y'all are! 
> 
> Only one more chapter to go!


	12. Ubuyela Ekhaya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Zulu, the tile means: She Returns Home, thus this final chapter sees the return of a Queen lost to history and a return of sorts for our treasure hunters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * _Four months ago, I had this ghost of an idea that I honestly didn't think I would be able to flesh out like I wanted, but thankfully, a few trips into writer's block jail, some kick butt writers, and the oodles of support from my favorite Lion cub and Bri, got me through this 30k+ word roller coaster._  
>  *Super grateful for all the feedback, comments, and keysmashes. Love this little fandom! Peace and Blessings!

_Dig Site: Lower Egypt, Saqqara_

A mile after the Humvees entered the perimeter check point, the vehicles came to a stop just outside the staging area. Generator powered flood lights shone down on the path leading to the unfinished pyramid entrance and the two large canopies set up on both the left and the right. In the back seat of the second to last vehicle, Chloe closed the travel medical kit and nodded in satisfaction at the butterfly bandages she had fixed over Nadine's eyebrow and cheek. She glanced once more at the gauze around her upper arm and curled her lip up in a frown. "Still think that needs stitches."

Nadine shrugged as she glanced at her bandaged arm, where blood was already seeping through in tiny blots. "Later. I promise."

Chloe arched a dubious eyebrow. Nadine chuckled. "I mean it, now let's go." Nadine's words snapped Chloe into action and she clapped her hands together in delight before bounding out of the vehicle. 

Nadine emitted a contented sigh before she exited the car, greeted by the pleasant feel of the cool desert night air, which acted like a balm to her battered body. She took a moment just to take the deep breath that she hadn't been afforded in so many weeks, and she surveyed the scene with relief and a bit of wonder. Gone was the apprehension that had followed her for the last 72 hours. However, the meditative pause lasted only a few heartbeats as the flash of Chloe's red shirt across her field of vision, brought her out of her momentary contemplation.

“You ready for this, china?” She walked backwards as if afraid Nadine would turn off and go join her compatriots by a tent. Chloe’s eyes were wide and wild with excitement. 

Nadine couldn’t help but grin at the other woman’s infectious excitement. Admittedly, she was excited, but there were also nerves, and maybe just a hint of regret- but she wasn’t ready to deal with that quite yet. 

Yara spotted the walking pair and held her finger up to Sam, who was in the middle of play-by-play recap, replete with a one-armed reenactment of a all the action. She promised she’d come back before she jogged over to meet the two women by the tomb entrance. "Ma'am." She nodded at Nadine and smiled in Chloe's direction. "You guys all look like shit! Wow!" Her smile was disarming, making it clear her words were meant to be complimentary. She quickly looked at Chloe and added, "not you." She then swung her eyes back to Nadine, "but you, definitely."

Chloe smirked and Nadine just rolled her eyes. "I'd laugh, but my face hurts."

Yara at least had the good sense to grimace while giving Nadine a once over with her eyes. "That probably needs stitches," she mumbled quietly as her eyes passed over Nadine's bandaged arm. Once satisfied, she leaned in close to Nadine, "did you really shoot Sam?"

Nadine managed a snort of laughter. "Is he still complaining? _Yissus_ , he's going to put that on his tombstone."

Chloe held her hands up and then drew them apart, making an imaginary rectangle. "Here lies Sam Drake, shot in the shoulder by Nadine Ross, died of dysentery on the high seas." 

The three women laughed. "Well, I guess he deserves a few points for getting shot then." She grinned.

Nadine sobered quickly, suddenly in need of an update. "Did you guys have trouble?" She looked off towards an unfamiliar military transport truck with the back wheel shot to pieces. 

Yara nodded. "Nothing we weren't ready for." She managed to make the statement without sounding cocky. It was just a fact. "There were a dozen or so."

"Were?" Chloe asked.

"About five are still moving. We've got them cuffed in the truck at least until morning. Let the authorities deal with grave robbers and what not." The women nodded in agreement, before Yara spoke again. "Well, I'll let you get to it." She gestured towards the tomb, but made no move to leave.

Nadine caught the other woman's eyes and wondered for a moment if she was supposed to say something other than thank you. Yara seemed just as stuck as Nadine. At some point, she would have to go beyond the practiced routine of military protocol, but what came to her so naturally with Chloe didn't always transfer to other people. And technically, whatever boundaries she crossed with Chloe were mostly because the other woman had dragged her over and through them without one iota of warning. 

Chloe watched the moment pass between the two women and shook her head in amusement. "You know," she began in a half-whisper. "If you two hug each other, I promise nothing will catch on fire." She clapped Yara hard on the shoulder and winked at Nadine. "I'm headed down. You kids hug it out or whatever, and the I'll see you down there." She eyed Nadine briefly before she wiggled long fingers in a goodbye and entered the skinny stairwell, leaving the two chagrined soldiers alone.

Yara broke first. She fiddled with the strap of the rifle on her back and just shook her head as heat filled her cheeks. "You think you can handle that?"

Nadine tried to look offended, but her smug grin gave her away. "Or, I'm going to die trying." They shared a laughed and clasped hands in a quick handshake. Once they stepped apart, Nadine nodded. "You're a good soldier, Yara. And I couldn't ask for a better friend." 

She tugged on the short brim of her cap and matched Nadine's smug grin. "You're damn right. Now, go find your girl." She started to walk off while talking. "I'm going to go win more money from Sam."

Nadine laughed out loud at that. "Go easy on him. He got shot in the shoulder."

"I know, I'm kind of impressed." Yara just shrugged at Nadine's eye roll and headed back towards the tent, while Nadine entered the tomb. 

Her boots crunched along the gravel as she followed the fluorescent markers through the tunnel. She found Chloe waiting for her at the blown entrance wall. Yara's dig team had been hard at work clearing the space and both women could hear the quick mellifluous French coming from inside the tomb. 

Professor Camara was pointing willowy arms in the direction of two people clad in bulky hazmat looking gear, although they didn't wear helmets. The older woman stopped her instructions mid-sentence, her attention drawn to the mouth of the entrance. She pushed up her goggles into the head wrap that covered her locs and smiled. Chloe stood with her hands in the back pockets of her pants, Nadine beside her with hands on her hips, their shoulders just brushing one another as they stood still in the opening. 

"Well, look at you two." The professor's steps were measured as she neared them, ever cognizant of not disturbing the space too much more than it already had been. The ground was littered little flags and markers, colored coded and numbered, each matching an entry in the professor’s notebook. Safi's smile dimmed and her brow creased once she got a better look at the two women. There was the expected dirt, scrapes and dried blood, but there were also swollen lips, obvious gashes, still bleeding wounds, and an overall air of exhaustion. 

Safi came to a stop directly in front of Nadine, who looked the worst. She had already pulled off her gloves while walking to meet them, so when she gently touched fingers and palm to Nadine's cheek, her hand was warm against her skin. " _Ma petite, qu'est-il arrivé_ ?" Nadine's eyes moved down to focus on the swirls in the sand and gravel at her feet. Safi glanced at Chloe, who only offered a sympathetic smile. Dark brown eyes focused once more on Nadine and she cleared her throat. "You know what, I don't want to know." She rubbed her thumb tenderly across the bruised flesh of her cheek and brown eyes looked up to meet her own. Her smile was back and then she pulled Nadine into the kind of hug that a parent reserved for their child, who had spent too long playing in the cold. Despite her thin frame, her arms enveloped Nadine in a secure embrace. She rubbed big circles into her back and felt Nadine finally open her arms to reciprocate.

Chloe, whose eyes had never strayed far from looking at Nadine, felt a bit intrusive as she watched Nadine sink into the hug with a familiarity that left her with many questions. She was almost thinking of stepping away, as she could tell that Safi was whispering something into Nadine's ear and Nadine was nodding. A hand on her arm stopped her retreat and she saw that it was the professor's hand. Safi stepped back and smiled brightly at Chloe. "I'm just glad you are both in one piece." She squeezed Chloe's arm. "All right, enough of this." She smiled at them both and then slipped her gloves back on. "I have work to do." With lowered goggles, she spun on the heels of her boots and headed back to the sarcophagus. 

Chloe gave Nadine a moment to gather herself before speaking. "You ready to go see the queen?" Chloe nudged her shoulder and Nadine's cheeks lifted with a tiny grin, before the they navigated the strategically placed flags and markers sprinkling the ground and moved towards the head of the platform. 

Once they got close, Chloe found herself marveling not at the intricate etchings or the grain of the wood, but at the look of fulfillment and elation on Nadine's face. The elation she had seen before, but beneath that was something more, something heavier. Chloe knew the feeling. Watching Nadine peer in awe around the sarcophagus was like the feel of the tusk of Ganesh in her hand for the first time. It was beyond simple relief and achievement; it felt something akin to purpose. Here was the thing that she he had dreamt of doing as a kid. It was the only frivolous thing she made room for. In between the routine and regimen of military life and her father's plans for her future, there was always the possibility of one day exploring lost tombs and unearthing some great find. It was why she had fallen in love with history in the first place. 

Brown eyes roamed across the lines of dye and the designs that clearly marked the occupant as a queen and Nadine's smile grew wide. She stood up straight from where she had been bending over at the waist and leaning in close. With eyes, still on the sarcophagus she said, "you and Sam really did it." Her words came out appreciative and quiet.

Chloe tilted her head in confusion and ducked her head, so her mouth was close to Nadine's ear. "No, love, we, really did it." She elongated the sound of the 'e' for emphasis.

Nadine folded her arms across her chest and turned her head towards Chloe with a ready protest on her lips. Chloe grabbed her gently by the shoulders and turned her so that they were facing one another. "No buts, Nadine. You did this. We didn't get here without you, and you know it." 

Nadine worried her bottom lip with her teeth, before finally looking up and meeting Chloe's eyes. "Just wish I could've been here with you." The soft smile the other woman seemed only to display for her, kicked up a storm of butterflies in her stomach. 

Chloe nodded as she remembered what it felt like to enter this place without Nadine. She stuck out her bottom lip in a tiny pout and she rubbed her hands up and down Nadine's shoulders. Chloe's eyebrows rose as she had a thought. "Actually, since we have way more light this time, it's a bit like seeing it for the first time." She flashed her lopsided smirk at Nadine and the other woman let out a light laugh. 

"Well, when you put it like that." Nadine shrugged her left shoulder and slung her arm around Chloe's waist as she turned to face the platform once more. Chloe followed her lead and curled her long arm around Nadine's side and they stood together quietly for a few moments. With her slight height advantage, Chloe pressed her lips to the side of Nadine's forehead and squeezed her partner closer while they stood in deserved awe of not just their find, but in each other.  
\----

_Johannesburg_

Two days. 

Two long days of photos, interviews, more photos, inventory and ice baths, another interview, a dinner, a negotiation, another photo op, and a never-ending stream of papers to sign. 

Exhausted from the plane ride and sore from absolutely everything, but happy to be on their own for the first time in two days, Chloe stood in the living room of Nadine's childhood home and waited for her partner to emerge from a back room. The furniture was covered with sheets and tarps to stay protected until they would be used again. Technically, this house was the Summer house, so during the rather cool Winter months, the home was usually closed up. Chloe poked around the space until a few scant pictures on the fireplace mantle caught her eye. 

Two small silver frames held a picture of Nadine's parents: her father in a uniform, ramrod straight, eyes forward, and an arm wrapped around the shoulders of a petite strawberry blonde. Her smile was large as she leaned into her husband. They made a handsome couple and Chloe would've lingered had it not been for the other photo to the right. It was another family photo, but this time, a chubby cheeked baby Nadine was present. This time, Nadine's father was all smiles, as he stood towering over his wife and child with his arms wrapped around them both. Her mother's mouth was wide open, caught in a moment of laughter, and with barely two teeth and already a head full of curly hair, Nadine appeared to be laughing as well. Nadine obviously had her father's coloring but she looked very much like her mother. They rarely talked about their parents, but she knew that Nadine didn't have much left in the way of immediate family, and from what they had talked about over the last couple of days, the professor was the closest thing to family she had left. It was one of the reasons why she always seemed eager to be away from Johannesburg. 

"What are you doing?" Nadine walked back into the living room.

Chloe stood up straight at the sound of her voice. "Looking at the impossible."

Nadine furrowed her brown in question. "Huh?"

"Look, it's Nadine Ross with an actual ounce of body fat!" She pointed at the picture with delight in her eye.

"Ha. Ha." Nadine stuck out her tongue. 

"I'm serious, I want to eat your cheeks."

Nadine tried not to smile. "Whatever, Frazer. I'm going to head up the hill. You coming?"

Chloe nodded, suddenly remembering why they were here in the first place. "Gonna' hit the loo and then I'll be right there." Nadine just nodded and walked out of the front door and headed towards a small hill at the back of the property. Chloe waited until the door had swung shut before she nicked the photo from the mantle and slid it into her rucksack. There was no way she was going to leave here without that photo. She smiled to herself and then headed out of the house.

A few yards away and up a hill, Nadine had gone to pay her respects to her parents. They weren't buried on the property, but from what Chloe could gather, her father had left a cairn of sorts to commemorate her mother. Nadine had returned to her childhood home for her father's dog tags, which she was going to bury at the site. Chloe leaned back against the worn and muddied metal of the weathered 4 x 4 as she waited and watched. Nadine hadn't exactly asked her to come up the hill with her, but she had silently implied that she wanted Chloe there and, so she stood next to the Jeep, happy to wait.

From her vantage point she had a clear line of sight and if necessary, it would only take a quick jog to be where she was needed, but for the moment, the only request was that she remain where she was. Clad in her customary maroon shirt and gray cargo pants, she leaned back with her weight resting against the weathered side panel, with her arms folded across her chest and her eyes affixed straight ahead at the top of the hill. She watched as Nadine got down on her knees to bury one of the tags in the earth, while she pocketed the other. She remained on her knees for a heartbeat or two before rising and staring out across the valley. 

Nadine subtly looked back over her shoulder and Chloe took that as her cue to come up the hill. Once there, they stood together in the early morning silence and watched the sunrise. Chloe interlaced their fingers and they stood in contemplation, bearing witness to dawn's embers burnishing the sky. 

After the red-purple gave way to a soft orange, Chloe spoke. "So, it's yours again. Shoreline. You good with that?" 

Nadine gave a small nod in response. "Well," she shrugged, "technically, I mean, it's ours. You okay with that, partner?" There was a small catch in her voice, the only hint of her nerves. Chloe could only open her mouth in surprise and gray eyes were opened wide, about the size of silver dollars. Nadine smirked and nudged her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not proposing marriage." Her tone was teasing, and Chloe's cheeks pinked. "Ooh, look, made you blush."

Chloe laughed and bumped her hip against Nadine's. "Very funny. Although, I mean as far as marriage proposals go, how can a girl turn down a whole company full of mercenaries." Chloe's eyes sparkled with the rise of the sun. "Wonder could I get them to paint the flat?"

Eyes that were amber in the morning light rolled in jest and Nadine turned and pulled at Chloe's hip with her free hand. They now stood face to face. Chloe untangled their hands and draped her arms loosely around Nadine's neck. Her slight height advantage was mitigated by the slope of the hill. "Actually, it's just me right now. But, I guess if you ask nicely, I'll help you paint your flat."

Chloe tilted her head. "Guess I'll just put that on your 'how am I going to make it up to Chloe list'."

Nadine groaned and hung her head. "Just how long is this list?"

Chloe looked up and pursed her lips in thought. "It's a fluid list."

This time Nadine's groan was dramatic as she lifted her head. "You sure I can't just get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness?"

Chloe's lips curved up into a lecherous grin. as she arched a slim eyebrow and leveled a look at Nadine that made the compact woman shiver slightly. "Oh, don't you worry, there's going to be begging involved."

Nadine met Chloe's hard stare as she reaffirmed her hold on Chloe's hips and pulled them flush against one another. "I see that you are going to enjoy this."

"You bet your ass, I am. I went easy on you last night." Her grin was downright devilish and she could feel Nadine responding shiver. "Besides, after what the three of us just found, we are about to be on everybody's radar. Whatever down time we have, I don't plan on letting you out of my sight." She tilted her head down so that their foreheads touched. Since her eyes were closed, she felt Nadine sigh and wrap her arms fully around her waist. 

"Don't worry, consider me welded to your side."

"Just the side?"

Nadine snorted. "Shut up, Frazer."

"Make me."

Nadine wasted no time in lifting her head and meeting Chloe's lips. While not nearly as frantic or angry as their first kiss, this kiss was fraught with as much heat and as much promise. Nadine seemed to pour every ounce of apology she had into the kiss, pressing the other woman close. Chloe cradled Nadine's face with long fingers and held on as the kiss deepened, letting out a soft moan. It was only the burning in her lungs that made her drag her lips away. 

A woozy Nadine chased her lips and Chloe let out a chirp of laughter. "How about we get a move on?" She pecked her lips. "You promised me the best _boerewors_ this side of the equator and I need you to be well-fed and full of energy." She wiggled her eyebrows. 

Nadine laughed out loud as they stepped out of each other's embrace. She held out her hand and Chloe found it without even missing a step, as they headed back down the small hill towards the jeep. "You talk a really good game, Frazer." She winked and hopped into the passenger seat. 

"I like your spirit." She gave her a cheeky a grin and started the Jeep once she got behind the wheel. 

"So, uh, you think we should call Sam for a bite to eat?" The look on her face was as unsure as her tone.

Chloe grimaced. "Ooh, yeah, that's going to be a no. He's still really pissed at you."

Nadine shrugged. "It was a damn flesh wound." She huffed. "Such a baby. I'm a damn good shot. He was never in danger." She folded her arms across her chest.

Chloe looked over at her partner and leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek. "You're completely amazing and yes, he's a big baby." 

A small grin teased at Nadine's lips as she began to lose the battle of pretending to be upset. "Let's go Frazer, I'm hungry." 

"So, bossy." Her laughter was drowned by the rumble of the engine as she started the car and headed back the way they came. 

 

_Fade out..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * _Ma petite, qu'est-il arrivé - what happened to you?_  
>  * Yissus - Jesus!  
> *Boerewors - traditional South African sausage 
> 
>  
> 
> Again, thanks so much for taking this ride with me!


End file.
